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Barclay,  Wade  Crawford,  18 

The  principles  of  religiou 
teaching 


OTHER  BOOKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 


THE  PUPIL.  A  study  of  the  pupil  in  the  suc- 
cessive stages  of  his  developing  life  and  the 
means  and  methods  of  his  rehgious  nurture. 

THE  TEACHER'S  STUDY  OF  THE  LIFE 
OF  CHRIST.  An  evaluation  of  the  Gos- 
pels as  materials  of  religious  instruction  for 
pupils  of  the  various  grades. 

THE  BIBLE.  A  brief  introduction  to  the  study 
of  the  Bible. 

A  BOOK  OF  WORSHIP.  For  use  at  table  on 
every  day  of  the  year. 

FIRST  STANDARD  MANUAL  OF  TEACHER 
TRAINING. 


THE    WORKER    AND    HIS    BIBLE.        By 

Frederick  Carl  Eiselen  and  Wade  Crawford 
Barclay. 

LIFE  IN  THE  MAKING.  By  Wade  Craw- 
ford Barclay,  Arlo  A.  Brown,  WiUiam  J. 
Thompson,  Harold  J.  Sheridan,  and  Alma 
S.  Sheridan. 

THE  ADULT  WORKER  AND  WORK.  By 
Wade  Crawford  Barclay  and  Lyndon 
Burke  Phifer. 

ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION 
OF  THE  ADULT  DEPARTMENT. 


The  Principles  of 
Religious  Teaching 


BY         ^ 

WADE  CRAWFORD  BARCLAY 


/^^    OF   HiUQr 

^AN2l  1929 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 
NEW  YORK        CINCINNATI 


First  Standard  Manual  of  Teacher  Training 

Copyright,  1912  and  1914,  by 

WADE  CRAWFORD  BARCLAY 

The  Pupil,  the  Teacher,  and  the  School 

Copyright,  1915,  by 

WADE  CRAWFORD  BARCLAY 

The  Principles  of  Religious  Teaching 

Copyright,  1920,  by 

WADE  CRAWFORD  BARCLAY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


First  Edition  Printed  November,  1920 
Second  Printing,  March,  1921 

Third  Printing,  June,  1923 
Fourth  Printing,  March,  1924 
Fifth  Printing,  November,  1924 

Sixth  Printing,  March,  1925 

Seventh  Printing,  March,  1926 

Eighth  Printing,  April,  192S 


CONTENTS 

Preface 5 

To  THE  Teacher 7 

I.    The  Teacher's  First  Pupil 9 

II.    The  Purpose  and  General  Method  of  In- 
struction    17 

III.  Types  of  Instruction  :  The  Story 27 

IV.  Types  of  Instruction  :  Questioning  and  the 

Discussion  Method 34 

V.    Types  of  Instruction:  The  Recitation,  Re- 
views, AND  Examinations 44 

VI.    Illustrations 55 

VII.    Lesson  Plans 65 

VIII.     Interest  and  Attention 73 

IX.    The  Use  of  Motives 84 

X.    The  Cultivation  of  Religious  Feeling 95 

XI.    Teaching  Through  Activity 106 

XII.    The  Class  as  a  School  for  Social  Living —  116 

Appendix 123 

Index 129 


PREFACE 

Religious  pedagogy  is  one  of  the  newer  branches  of  the  sci- 
ence of  education.  Despite  the  fact  that  teaching  was  made 
central  by  the  Founder  of  Christianity  both  in  his  practice  and 
in  the  Great  Commission  to  his  disciples  and  the  further  fact 
that  many  of  the  most  notable  achievements  of  the  church 
through  the  ages  have  been  due  to  the  faithful  exercise  of  this 
central  function,  modern  church  leaders,  until  very  recent 
years,  have  given  scant  attention  to  the  development  of  the  princi- 
ples and  technique  of  religious  teaching.  Rapid  progress  has  been 
made  during  the  last  two  decades,  but  much  pioneer  work  yet 
remains  to  be  done. 

The  author  offers  this  brief  treatment  as  a  modest  contribu- 
tion in  a  rapidly  developing  field.  The  book  does  not  assume  to 
be  anything  more  than  an  introduction  to  a  subject  that  deserves 
far  more  adequate  treatment.  Being  constantly  reminded  of  the 
limitations  of  teacher-training  classes,  particularly  in  the  matter 
of  time  for  study  and  the  practical  difficulty  of  completing  long 
courses,  the  author  has  felt  the  necessity  of  brevity  in  the 
discussion  of  many  topics  that  he  would  have  preferred  to  treat 
in  much  greater  detail. 

In  an  earlier  volume  (The  Pupil)  it  was  suggested  that  prac- 
tically the  whole  of  the  teacher's  task  is  comprehended  in  the 
term  "religious  nurture."  The  problem  that  engaged  attention 
throughout  the  textbook  was,  How  may  we  most  effectively  nur- 
ture the  moral  and  religious  life  of  the  pupil?  The  present  dis- 
cussion may  be  considered  a  further  study  of  the  same  general 
problem.  In  the  earlier  study  the  question  constantly  in  mind 
was,  What  are  the  pupil's  needs  that  we  must  meet  in  nurtur- 
ing his  moral  and  religious  life?  In  our  present  study  we  con- 
tinue to  regard  the  pupil  as  central  and  keep  his  needs  con- 
stantly before  us,  but  the  problem  that  chiefly  engages  attention 
is  rather  the  process  by  which  the  religious  life  may  be  de- 
veloped. Our  question  is.  What  are  the  means  by  which  the 
teacher  may  most  effectively  nurture  the  pupil's  moral  and  re- 
ligious life?  Since  we  are  thinking  not  of  teaching  in  general 
but  of  religious  teaching  in  a  Christian  school  we  may  even  more 
explicitly  state  our  purpose  by  saying  that  we  study  the  prin- 

5 


6  PREFACE 

ciples  of  Christian  nurture.  In  a  third  volume  we  shall  con- 
sider the  principles  of  nurture  in  terms  of  the  organization  and 
management  of  the  school. 

The  plan  of  treatment  is  simple  and  will  be  obvious  upon 
examination.  Teaching  is  not  defined  narrowly,  in  terms  of  in- 
struction only,  as  has  been  the  usual  practice  in  the  past. 
Rather  it  is  conceived  in  broader  and  more  vital  terms.  The 
teacher's  task  is  to  nurture  the  religious  life  of  the  pupil  (1) 
by  personal  association,  (2)  by  instruction,  (3)  by  the  cultiva- 
tion of  religious  feeling,  (4)  by  training  in  Christian  conduct 
and  service.  No  Sunday-school  teacher  is  really  eflBcient  who 
ignores  any  one  of  these  vital  elements  in  the  teaching  process. 

The  author's  indebtedness  to  leading  authorities  in  the  field 
of  general  education  is  evidenced  by  numerous  references.  This 
indebtedness  is  here  gratefully  acknowledged.  Thanks  are  due 
and  are  hereby  expressed  to  authors  and  publishers  for  per- 
mission to  use  quotations  from  copyrighted  books. 

In  the  hope  that  it  may  be  helpful  to  many  earnest  teachers, 
and  young  people  about  to  become  teachers,  who  are  seeking  to 
present  themselves  approved  unto  God,  workmen  who  need  not 
to  be  ashamed,  this  book  is  sent  forth  upon  its  way. 

Wade  Crawford  Barclay. 
Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
September,  1920. 


TO  THE  TEACHER 

This  book  is  intended  as  a  textbook  for  the  use  of  training 
classes,  either  teachers  or  young  people  in  preparation  for  teach- 
ing. The  teacher  of  the  training  class  is  advised  to  make  a 
careful  study  of  the  textbook  before  beginning  his  work  with 
the  class.  The  book  as  a  whole  should  be  read  in  order  that 
its  plan  and  general  contents  may  be  thoroughly  familiar  in 
advance.     Attention  is  called  to  the  following  features: 

The  Lesson  Statement. — By  the  lesson  statement  is  meant 
the  entire  body  of  the  chapter  exclusive  of  the  "Construc- 
tive Task"  and  the  "References  for  Supplementary  Reading." 
The  lesson  statement  is  intended  to  be  made  the  basis  of  dis- 
cussion in  the  class  session.  Every  member  of  the  class 
should  be  required  to  have  a  copy  of  the  textbook  and  to 
make  diligent  study  of  the  lesson.  Discussion  should  be 
participated  in  by  all,  and  the  teacher  should  not  rest  con- 
tent until  he  has  secured  general  participation.  Those  who  are 
backward  in  expression  may  be  led  out  by  questions.  A  spirit 
of  free  and  easy  conversation  is  the  ideal.  Overtalkative  mem- 
bers of  the  group  should  not  be  permitted  to  monopolize  the 
time.  The  teacher  who  permits  himself  to  fall  into  the  habit 
of  doing  all  the  talking  or  of  delivering  a  lecture  based  upon  the 
lesson  statement  will  accomplish  little  in  training  teachers. 

As  a  rule  an  entire  chapter  may  be  taken  as  a  single  lesson. 
If  this  is  done,  a  class  meeting  regularly  once  a  week  may  com- 
plete the  text  in  three  months.  In  some  cases,  however,  it  will 
be  found  that  certain  chapters  contain  more  material  than  can 
be  thoroughly  covered  in  a  single  session,  especially  if  the  class 
session  is  less  than  an  hour  in  length.  In  this  event  more  than 
one  session  should  be  devoted  to  a  chapter.  The  length  of  the 
assigned  lesson  should  be  determined  by  the  time  the  members 
of  the  class  have  for  study,  their  ability  to  master  the  material, 
and  the  length  of  the  class  session.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
textbook  should  be  completed  in  twelve  class  periods.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  work  should  not  be  allowed  to  drag. 

The  inexperienced  teacher  who  feels  the  need  of  guidance  in 
method  is  advised  to  make  a  thorough  study,  in  advance,  of 
Chapters  IV  and  VII.  These  chapters  will  be  found  to  apply 
directly  to  the  teaching  of  the  training  class. 

7 


8  TO  THE  TEACHER 

Constructive  Task. — The  constructive  task  involves  original 
thought  and  observation  on  the  part  of  all  members  of  the 
class.  Assignments  should  be  made  a  week  in  advance.  For 
example,  the  constructive  task  for  the  second  lesson,  found  on 
page  26,  should  be  assigned  at  the  session  in  which  the  first 
lesson  is  discussed.  Reports  should  be  mailed  or  handed  to  the 
teacher  at  least  two  days  in  advance  of  the  class  session.  They 
should  be  read  and  graded.  Frequently  the  teacher  will  find  in 
these  reports  valuable  points  of  contact  for  beginning  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  lesson.  Some  two  or  three  of  the  best  reports 
may  be  read  in  the  class  session.  The  constructive  task  is  one 
of  the  most  important  features  of  the  course. 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading. —  These  will  be 
found  to  be  under  two  heads.  There  are,  in  the  first  place, 
references  to  the  ''Worker  and  Worlc"  series.  This  is  a  valuable 
set  of  eight  volumes,  uniform  in  size  and  style  of  binding.  It 
will  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  class  to  purchase  a  set  of  these 
books  for  its  own  use.  Under  the  second  head,  "In  the  Library,** 
reference  is  made  to  a  limited  number  of  the  more  important 
books  in  the  general  field  of  pedagogy.  Those  to  which  most 
frequent  references  are  made  should  be  purchased  for  the 
workers'  library  of  the  Sunday  school.  If  a  good  public  library 
is  available,  most  of  these  books  will  be  found  in  it.  If  they 
are  not  there  found,  the  united  request  of  the  class  made  to 
the  public-library  board  might  result  in  their  purchase.  The 
workers'  library  of  the  Sunday  school  should  be  provided  by  the 
local  Sunday-school  board  for  the  service  of  the  teachers  and 
officers  of  the  school.  In  addition  some  of  the  class  may  be  will- 
ing to  invest  in  one  or  more  of  these  books  for  personal  use. 

Enrollment  of  Classes. — As  this  textbook  is  regularly  ap- 
proved as  a  textbook  in  teacher  training,  any  class  studying  it 
is  entitled  to  enrollment  as  a  teacher-training  class.  The  suc- 
cessful completion  of  an  examination  will  entitle  the  members  of 
the  class  to  credit  by  certificate.  Each  class  should  be  regu- 
larly enrolled  with  its  denominational  Sunday-school  board. 
Correspondence  with  the  Department  of  Teacher  Training  will 
bring  valuable  assistance  in  the  use  of  the  textbook  and  con- 
duct of  the  required  course. 

Teachers  are  invited  to  confer  freely  with  the  author.  He 
may  be  addressed  in  care  of  The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio.  Suggestions  and  criticisms  from  teachers  are  in- 
vited and  will  be  gratefully  received. 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  TEACHER'S  FIRST  PUPIL 

A  BEAUTIFUL  and  true  conception  of  the  teacher's  task  is  that 
symbolized  in  the  memorial  to  Alice  Freeman  Palmer  at  Welles- 
ley  College.  The  teacher  stands  slightly  behind  her  pupil  with 
one  hand  resting  upon  the  pupil's  shoulder  while  with  the  other 
she  points  toward  a  distant  goal,  upon  which  the  gaze  of  both 
teacher  and  pupil  rests.  We  look  in  vain  for  any  of  the  instru- 
ments we  commonly  associate  with  schools  and  teaching.  Of 
classroom,  textbooks,  illustrative  objects,  there  is  not  the  slight- 
est trace.    Teacher,  pupil,  and  unseen  goal — that  is  all. 

In  beginning  our  study  of  the  principles  of  teaching  religion  it 
is  well  to  realize  that  nothing  else  counts  for  so  much  in  teach- 
ing as  character.  Personality  weighs  more  than  words.  Unless 
It  speaks  loud  and  clear,  spoken  words  will  fall  on  deaf  ears. 
The  spirit  of  the  teacher,  his  moral  and  spiritual  ideals,  the 
atmosphere  he  carries,  the  disposition  he  manifests — ^these  add 
to  or  detract  from  his  spoken  words  and  continue  to  speak  when 
he  is  silent. 

Why  Pebsonauty  Is  Supbeme  in  Teaching 

Let  us  consider  briefly  some  reasons  why  personality  is  supreme 
in  religious  teaching: 

Religion  Made  Real  in  Persons. — ^Religion  interpreted  in 
words  and  ideas  is  likely  to  seem  vague  and  unreal.  In  a  beauti- 
ful or  heroic  character  it  becomes  concrete  and  real.  The  facts 
of  history  or  of  geography  can  be  taught  from  books,  but  religion 
is  more  than  fact:  it  is  truth  and  life  and  it  needs  to  be  seen 
in  a  human  being  before  it  can  be  understood  or  given  a  chance 
to  exert  its  power  and  Influence  on  others. 

This  is  one  reason  why  the  Bible  is  a  Book  of  such  vital 
power.  It  is  a  picture  gallery  of  great  souls,  a  record  of  heroic 
lives.  The  explanation  and  interpretation  of  religion  in  sys- 
tematic form  is  secondary;  the  record  and  exhibit  of  religion  in 
the  lives  of  patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles  is  primary.  We  do 
not  go  to  the  Bible  for  definitions  of  religion;  we  go  to  it  for 

9 


10  PRINCIPLES    OF   RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

the  inspiration,  stimulus;,  comfort,   and   strength  that  come  to 
us  from  the  lives  of  its  great  personalities. 

A  missionary  had  labored  for  a  long  time  without  apparent 
success  in  preaching  to  a  native  tribe.  One  day  the  head  man 
of  the  village  came  to  him  and  said:  "We  do  not  understand 
your  doctrine.  It  seems  very  far  off  from  us.  But  we  have 
been  watching  you.  We  believe  in  you.  We  admire  you.  You 
have  something  in  your  life  that  we  do  not  have.  If  it  is  your 
religion  that  has  made  you  what  you  are,  we  want  it."  The 
annals  of  modern  missions  are  full  of  similar  incidents.  Re- 
ligious truth  shines  clear  when  embodied  in  a  person. 

Character  Nurtured  by  Personal  Influence. — Character  in  a 
pupil  is  not  something  that  is  built  as  a  carpenter  builds  a  house. 
Character  grows.  It  unfolds  and  grows  in  the  sunshine  of  a 
beautiful  Christian  life  as  under  no  other  influence.  The  great- 
est thing  a  teacher  ever  brings  to  a  child  is  not  lessons  from  a 
book  but  the  uplift  which  comes  from  heart  contact  with  a  great 
personality. 

Moral  precepts  have  their  value  and  their  place,  even  as  has 
Christian  doctrine;  but,  as  President  King  has  said,  "no  teaching 
of  morals  and  noble  ideals  by  precepts  is  quite  equal  in  effect  and 
influence  to  the  bringing  of  a  surrendered  personality  into  touch 
with  a  truly  noble  Christian  soul."  The  same  principle  has  been 
thus  expressed  by  another:  "Character  comes  not  by  drill  but  by^ 
contagion." 

Personal  Influence  Abides. — Words  are  readily  forgotten,  but 
the  personal  influence  of  a  noble  man  or  a  good  woman  who  is  a 
teacher  goes  forth  with  the  pupil  to  abide  with  him  in  ever- 
present  power.  Teachers  are  remembered  far  more  for  what 
they  are  than  for  what  they  say. 

Great  teachers  almost  invariably  work  in  accord  with  the 
fundamental  principles  of  teaching;  always  they  possess  skill 
in  methods,  by  which  their  instruction  is  made  effective:  but 
it  is  personality  rather  than  method  that  makes  an  abiding  im- 
pression upon  their  pupils.  "It  was  the  genuineness  of  Thomas 
Arnold,"  says  Seely,^  "rather  than  his  methods  of  instruction, 
that  made  such  a  profound  impression  upon  the  boys  of  Rugby 
and  sent  them  out  to  be  the  moral  and  political  leaders  of  Eng- 
land. .  .  .  Someone  has  said:  'It  will  be  told  in  after  days 
how  there  was  once  a  heaven-born  headmaster  by  the  name  of 


'  A  New  School  Management,  page  4. 


THE    TEACHER'S    FIRST    PUPIL  11 

Thomas  Arnold,  who,  ruling  at  Rugby  and  allowing  his  boys  to 
be  merry  and  mischievous,  yet  taught  them  to  be  good  Christians 
and  true  gentlemen/  "  The  same  writer  says  of  Mary  Lyon,  of 
Mount  Holyoke,  that  her  ideals  found  expression  in  such  beau- 
tiful and  consecrated  Christian  womanhood  that  her  ideal  became 
the  ideal  of  their  lives,  and  most  of  the  girls  of  the  seminary 
went  out  as  Christian  women  to  carry  this  spirit  wherever  they 
went. 

The  Teacher  Training  Himself 

Since  personality  is  supreme  in  teaching,  it  follows  that  the 
teacher's  first  pupil,  and  his  last,  is  himself.  The  ultimate  deter- 
mination of  any  person's  character  and  personality  is  latent 
within  himself;  he  is  "the  captain  of  his  soul,"  the  "master  of 
his  fate."  "Thou  that  teachest  another,  teachest  thou  not  thy- 
self?" is  an  inquiry  that  is  at  the  same  time  an  injunction — 
one  to  which  every  teacher  and  everyone  ambitious  to  be  a 
teacher  should  give  most  earnest  heed. 

One  means  of  doing  this  is  the  study  of  just  such  a  course  as 
this  upon  which  you  are  now  entering.  To  the  untrained  teacher 
this  textbook  may  serve  as  a  means  of  acquiring  not  a  little 
serviceable  information;  but  the  giving  of  information  is  not  its 
sole  purpose.  It  is  hoped  that  its  study  will  be  a  direct  means 
of  the  enrichment  of  personality.  This  means  that  you  are  to  do 
more  than  inform  yourself  concerning  the  principles  of  teaching 
set  forth  in  this  book:  you  are  to  take  yourself  in  hand  and  make 
of  yourself  the  person  you  know  you  ought  to  te. 

Your  first  concern,  therefore,  now  and  always  should  be  to 
develop  y©ur  personality,  constantly  to  grow  in  grace  and  in 
strength,  in  power  of  mind,  integrity  of  will,  beauty  of  spirit,  in 
knowledge,  in  generosity — in  all  Christian  graces.  Your  supreme 
goal  is  nothing  less  than  completeness  of  Christian  character.  If 
you  succeed  in  your  great  task  of  being  a  Christian  you  cannot 
fail  in  your  task  as  Christ's  teacher. 

It  is  difficult  to  single  out  personal  qualities  of  chief  import- 
ance in  the  teacher.  Says  Professor  Palmer:  "There  is  no  human 
excellence  which  is  not  useful  for  us  teachers.  No  good  quality 
can  be  thought  of  which  we  can  afford  to  do  without."  With  this 
reservation  we  venture  to  suggest  certain  personal  qualities  that 
may  be  cultivated  which  are  of  special  importance  in  the  work 
of  teaching. 

Love. — All  the  laws  of  teaching  are  summed  up  in  this:  Thou 
Shalt  love  thy  pupils.     The  first  command  of  th6  gospel  is  the 


12  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

first  principle  in  effective  teaching.  Let  a  teacher  have  genuine 
love  for  his  pupils,  and  no  matter  how  he  may  be  handicapped 
in  other  ways  he  will,  like  Pestalozzi,  win  in  the  end.  Of  course, 
by  love  we  mean  a  genuine  affection  for  one's  pupils,  not  merely 
liking  them  so  far  as  they  show  themselves  likable.  Dig  deep 
enough  into  his  nature  and  you  will  find  in  every  child  or  youth 
that  which  is  worthy  of  admiration  and  true  regard.  Love  is  at 
once  blind  and  gifted  with  remarkable  vision:  it  refuses  to  see 
fickleness  and  whimsicalness  and  moodiness  and  awkwardness, 
and  underneath  these  or  any  other  unlovely  qualities  that  may 
be  possessed  it  sees  the  man  or  the  woman  that  is  to  be.  Love 
may  be  cultivated  through  sympathy.  Says  Weimer,  "See  in  the 
child  your  own  self  in  your  youth  and  you  will  learn  to  love  the 
child." 

The  inestimable  value  of  love  and  sympathy  in  a  teacher  are 
expressed  in  a  strikingly  beautiful  way  in  the  tribute  paid  by 
Helen  Keller  to  her  teacher,  Miss  Sullivan.  We  quote  only  a 
part  of  the  statement:  "It  was  my  teacher's  genius,  her  quick 
sympathy,  her  loving  tact,  which  made  the  first  years  of  my 
education  so  beautiful.  .  .  .  [She]  is  so  near  to  me  that  I 
scarcely  think  of  myself  apart  from  her.  .  .  .  All  the  best  of  me 
belongs  to  her — there  is  not  a  talent  or  an  aspiration  or  a  joy  in 
me  that  has  not  been  awakened  by  her  loving  touch."* 

Good  Humor. — Gracious  courtesy  and  kindliness,  combined 
with  good  humor  and  cheerfulness,  will  go  far  toward  winning 
the  hearts  of  your  pupils,  A  smile,  a  cordial  word  of  greeting, 
a  spontaneous  handshake,  if  they  bear  the  stamp  of  genuineness, 
have  an  almost  irresistible  appeal. 

As  a  teacher  you  will  need  the  gift  of  seeing  the  funny  side  of 
things:  a  laugh  will  often  save  a  desperate  situation.  You  will 
need  to  be  light-hearted  and  happy;  to  know  how  to  play  as  well 
as  to  pray;  to  be  able  to  enjoy  a  joke  as  well  as  to  be  deeply 
serious. 

Self-Control  and  Poise. — Few  things  are  more  essential  in 
a  teacher  than  the  ability  to  control  oneself.  Many  things  will 
happen  to  try  your  patience  and  to  vex  your  spirit  but  you  must 
not  allow  yourself  to  be  irritated  by  them.  You  must  learn  to 
avoid  anxiety,  restlessness,  hurry,  and  nervousness,  to  remain 
calm  and  unruffled  in  the  presence  of  distractions  and  petty 
disturbances.    Observation  of  the  effects  upon  yourself  and  upon 


1  The  Story  of  My  lAJe,  pages  38-4a 


THE    TEACHER'S    FIRST    PUPIL  13 

others  of  high  and  low  pitch  of  voice,  of  excited  and  calm  tones, 
will  emphasize  the  importance  of  this.  If  you  become  nervous  or 
excited,  if  you  speak  in  a  high  key  or  a  harsh  voice,  your  unquiet 
spirit  is  certain  to  be  communicated  to  your  pupils.  The  practice 
of  self-control,  even  in  such  simple  ways  as  controlling  the  hands 
and  feet,  the  tones  and  modulation  of  the  voice,  will  help  in 
attaining  a  composure  and  poise  which  will  be  serviceable  at  all 
times  and  a  saving  grace  in  times  of  crisis. 

Conviction  and  Entliusiasm. — It  is  the  teacher's  task  to  in- 
culcate belief  and  conviction.  To  do  so  you  must  yourself  believe 
and  believe  intensely.  You  must  be  positive.  Conviction  will 
give  carrying  power  to  the  truth  you  teach.  Only  enthusiasm 
can  kindle  enthusiasm.  Every  really  great  teacher  possesses 
these  qualities.  Take  as  an  illustration  Horace  Mann,  to  whom 
American  education  probably  owes  more  than  to  any  other  one 
person.  Hinsdale  says  of  him:  "His  devotion  to  truth  and 
right,  as  he  saw  them,  his  sense  of  duty,  his  unselfishness,  his 
benevolence,  were  very  marked.  His  moral  earnestness  was 
something  tremendous  and  constituted  the  first  of  the  two  great 
motive  powers  of  his  life." 

Enthusiasm  for  the  religious  teacher  must  ever  be  defined 
primarily  in  terms  of  spiritual  passion.  The  teacher  in  whose 
heart  the  fire  of  religion  has  ceased  to  burn  is  without  one  of  the 
first  qualifications  of  a  religious  teacher.  Without  spiritual 
ardor  no  teacher  can  effectively  mediate  between  truth  and  life. 
Moreover,  there  must  be  depth  as  well  as  warmth. 

Genuineness  is  absolutely  essential.  Insincerity  or  artificiality 
in  the  slightest  degree  is  well-nigh  fatal. 

A  positive,  constructive  attitude  is  likewise  essential.  One 
cannot  teach  in  negatives.  Emphasize  virtues  rather  than  faults; 
use  "do"  frequently,  "don't"  seldom  if  ever.  Keep  attention  and 
interest  centered  on  the  good,  the  true,  the  beautiful,  the  desir- 
able. 

Generosity  of  Spirit. — Respect  for  the  personality  of  others 
is  an  important  quality  in  a  teacher.  You  should  have  regard 
for  the  opinions  of  your  pupils,  for  their  likes  and  dislikes,  and 
should  be  patient  of  their  idiosyncrasies  and  peculiarities.  You 
should  put  the  best  construction  on  every  act  of  your  pupils  and 
be  readier  to  praise  than  to  blame.  You  will  need  to  be  fear- 
less and  just  but  you  should  never  be  harsh  or  critical.  You 
should  be  broad-minded  and  tolerant;  never  narrow  and  bigoted, 
yet  ever  loyal  to  the  truth  as  you  see  it  and  ready  to  stand  for  it 


14  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

at  any  cost.  You  should  be  open  and  frank,  concealing  nothing; 
approachable,  encouraging  your  pupils  to  question  you. 

By  interesting  yourself,  so  far  as  you  can  do  so  conscientiously, 
in  what  interests  your  pupils,  even  though  their  interests  seem 
to  you  trivial  and  narrow,  you  will  awaken  in  them  a  readiness 
to  respond  to  your  teaching.  Your  sympathy  and  genial  fellow- 
ship will  create  a  willingness  on  their  part  to  cooperate  with, 
you  in  your  plans  and  purposes  for  them. 

In  these  and  in  other  ways  peculiar  to  your  own  personality, 
ever  in  increasing  measure  as  grace  is  given  to  you,  it  will  be 
your  high  privilege  to  show  forth  in  and  through  your  life  and 
character  the  beauty  and  power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Teacher's  Attitude  Toward  His  Work 

The  quality  of  the  teacher's  work  will  depend  very  much  on 
his  attitude  toward  it. 

Conscionsness  of  a  Great  VCTork. — There  is  no  greater  calling 
than  that  of  the  teacher.  There  is  no  work  more  important,  more 
fundamental,  more  far-reaching  in  its  results.  Testimonies  to 
this  fact  have  been  many  and  various.  Consider,  for  example, 
the  words  of  John  Bright:  "I  don't  believe  that  all  the  statesmen 
in  existence  and  all  the  efforts  they  have  ever  made  have  tended 
so  much  to  the  greatness  and  the  true  happiness,  the  security, 
and  the  glory  of  this  country  as  have  the  efforts  of  the  Sunday- 
school  teachers."  It  is  of  first  importance  that  the  teacher  shall 
realize  the  greatness  of  the  work  to  which  he  is  called. 

Realization  of  Need  for  Training. — We  have  emphasized 
the  supreme  importance  of  personality  in  teaching,  but  we  would 
have  no  one  draw  the  unwarranted  inference  that  either  char- 
acter or  personality  can  be  made  a  cloak  for  ignorance  or  ineffi- 
ciency. Exact  knowledge,  a  real  mastery  of  the  principles  of 
teaching,  skill  growing  out  of  study  and  experience,  are  required. 
Perhaps  second  in  importance  is  the  realization  that  teaching  is  a 
work  that  requires  all  possible  skill,  the  highest  attainable  effi- 
ciency. The  question  is  not  so  much  one  of  present  attainments 
in  knowledge  and  skill  as  it  is  of  steadfast  purpose  to  attain. 
Arnold  of  Rugby,  the  great  teacher  of  boys,  was  wont  to  declare, 
"I  hold  that  a  man  is  only  fit  to  teach  so  long  as  he  is  himself 
learning  daily."  In  the  work  of  teaching  even  as  in  the  Christian 
life,  though  one  may  confess  with  the  apostle  not  yet  to  have 
attained,  one  ought  also  to  be  able  to  say  with  all  his  heart,  "I 
press  on  toward  the  goal." 


THE    TEACHER'S    FIRST    PUPIL  15 

Eagerness  for  Hard  Tasks. — Teaching  is  not  easy.  It  makes 
severe  demands  upon  those  who  engage  in  it.  Often  it  presents 
difficulties  that  are  baffling;  obstacles  that  are  all  but  insur- 
mountss-ble.  The  teacher  needs  the  spirit  that  is  eager  for  hard 
tasks,  willing  to  attempt  the  impossitle.  It  is  said  of  the  men 
who  accomplished  the  impossible  by  successfully  completing  the 
Panama  Canal  that  they  came  back  from  their  insuperable  task 
singing: 

"Got  any  rivers  they  say  are  uncrossable? 

Got  any  mountains  you  can't  tunnel  through? 
We  specialize  in  the  wholly  impossible — 

Doing  what  nobody  ever  could  do." 

Something  of  this  spirit  is  required  in  the  teacher.  He  who  is 
impressed  with  the  opportunity  that  religious  teaching  offers, 
who  gives  himself  unreservedly,  eagerly,  and  gladly  to  the  work 
and  to  preparation  for  efficiency  in  doing  it,  who  counts  diffi- 
culties and  sacrifices  nothing  for  the  joy  of  service  that  is  his, 
will  find  in  religious  teaching  a  calling  than  which  there  is  no 
higher.  He  who  gives  himself  grudgingly,  talks  alDOut  what  sacri- 
fices it  involves,  or  complains  because  of  the  difficulties  it  offers 
is  out  of  place  in  the  rank  of  Christ's  teachers  and  should  either 
change  his  attitude  or  cease  to  think  of  being  a  teacher. 

The  Sense  of  Wonder. — The  best  teachers  sometimes  become 
disheartened  or  temporarily  discouraged.  When  the  temptation 
comes,  it  will  help  one  to  consider  the  wonder  of  the  teacher's 
icork.  It  is  truly  a  wonderful  work.  Meditate  upon  the  fact 
that  you  are  truly  God's  teacher — a  colaborer  with  Jesus  Christ. 
Consider  that  it  is  your  privilege  to  aid  God  in  the  growth  of  a 
soul!  The  wonder  of  every  teacher's  work  is  well  stated  by 
Taylor:  "We  are  dealing  with  the  mind,  not  with  physical 
forces.  The  most  sensitive  instrument  ever  invented  by  man 
does  not  compare  with  it  in  delicacy.  .  .  .  [We  confront]  the 
mystery  of  conscious  life.  No  other  phenomenon  in  the  universe 
approaches  it  in  sublimity;  no  other  so  fascinates  us  by  its  deli- 
cate subtleness.  The  force  of  gravitation  that  holds  the  stars 
in  their  courses,  the  fervent  heat  that  melts  down,  mountains  and 
tosses  them  into  the  sky,  the  bolt  of  lightning  that  shivers  the 
towering  monarchs  of  the  forest,  powerful  though  they  be,  know 
not  themselves  nor  direct  a  single  one  of  their  activities.  That 
strange  and  wonderful  attribute  conscious  life  is  reserved  for  the 
child,  the  man."^ 


The  Study  of  the  Child,  page  zlL 


16  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 


Constructive  Task 

1.  Recall  your  own  early  experience  as  a  Sunday-school  pupil: 
What  influenced  you  most?    Be  definite  in  your  answer. 

2.  Think  of  the  best  teacher  you  have  ever  known.  Name 
some  of  the  personal  qualities  of  this  teacher  that  have  most 
impressed  you. 

3.  In  addition  to  those  suggested  in  the  lesson  statement,  name 
other  personal  qualities  that  you  think  a  teacher  should  cultivate. 

4.  Write  a  brief  statement  in  answer  to  this  question:  Why 
am  I  a  teacher,  or  why  do  I  desire  to  be  a  teacher? 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 
In  "The  Worker  and  Work"  series 

1.  The  teacher  come  from  God:  The  Adult  Worker  and  Work, 
Chapter  XIV. 

In  the  library 

1.  The  personality  of  the  teacher:  A  New  School  Management, 
Seely,  Chapter  1. 

2.  The  teacher's  personal  equipment:  The  Making  of  a  Teacher, 
Brumbaugh,  Chapter  XVII. 

3.  The  cultivation  of  personality:    The  Teacher's  Philosophy, 
Hyde,  Part  II. 


CHAPTER   II 
THE  PURPOSE  AND  GENERAL  METHOD  OF  INSTRUCTION 

Schopenhauer  held  that  no  child  under  fifteen  should  be  taught 
anything  about  religion.  Cotton  Mather,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
accustomed  to  take  his  little  daughter  Katie,  aged  four,  upon  his 
knees,  talk  to  her  about  her  responsibility  to  God,  and  drill  her 
in  the  catechism.    Which  was  right? 

There  are  wide  differences  in  practice  and  belief  even  to-day. 
People  still  may  be  found  who  contend  that  children  should  not 
be  given  any  formal  religious  instruction  until  they  have  arrived 
at  middle  or  later  youth.  Probably  not  many  could  be  found 
who  adhere  to  this  view,  but  occasionally  we  hear  it  advanced. 
It  is  more  common  to  find  persons  who  hold  that  formal  religious 
instruction  should  be  begun  as  early  as  the  child  is  able  to  learn. 
There  are  many  religious  people  who  would  see  nothing  incon- 
gruous in  the  example  of  the  Puritan  leader  in  drilling  his 
four-year-old  child  in  the  catechism.  Such  considerations 
naturally  raise  the  question  of  the  importance,  the  value,  and  the 
place  of  religious  instruction.  As  a  part  of  our  work  of  the 
religious  education  of  our  pupils  what  importance  should  we 
attach  to  instruction?    What  are  some  of  its  principal  purposes? 

The  Purposes  of  Religious  Instruction 

Religions  Interest. — When  the  child  first  becomes  a  Sunday- 
school  pupil,  some  degree  of  religious  interest  is  already  present 
in  his  mind.  Artificial  means  of  maintaining  his  religious  inter- 
est are  unnecessary,  because  religion  is  the  means  whereby  man 
attains  to  the  highest  and  best  of  which  his  nature  is  capable, 
and  natural  impulse  toward  self-realization  can  be  depended  on 
to  create  interest.  But  the  growth  of  this  interest  depends  on 
an  increasing  stock  of  religious  ideas.  Unless  these  are  fur- 
nished through  religious  instruction,  natural  interest  in  religion 
gradually  wanes.  One  purpose  of  religious  instruction  is  there- 
fore that  of  supplying  such  suitaMe  religious  ideas  as  will 
nurture  and  develop  the  pupiVs  present  interest  in  and  apprecior 
tion  of  religion. 

Religious  interest  has  a  feeling  side.    That  is  to  say,  religious 

17 


18  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

interest  is  partly  a  matter  of  knowledge;  partly  a  matter  of 
feeling.  Instruction  in  itself  is  not  enough.  We  are  to  recognize 
that  feeling  as  well  as  knowledge  is  to  be  enriched  and  strength- 
ened  ♦ 

Understanding:  the  Christian  Ideal. — Another  purpose  of 
instruction  is  that  our  pupils  shall  te  given  an  understanding  of 
the  Christian  ideal.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  a  Christian?  What 
is  the  Christian  thing  to  do?  What  motives  and  purposes  should 
be  dominant  in  one's  life?  It  is  at  once  apparent  that  this 
involves  an  acquaintance  with  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus 
Christ  and,  indeed,  some  knowledge,  at  least,  of  the  Bible  as  a 
whole.  The  lack  here  is  very  marked.  Investigations  among 
high-school  and  college  students  frequently  have  revealed  that 
inadequate,  childish,  and  almost  hopelessly  confused  ideas  are 
held  concerning  Christian  teachings.  These  investigations  have 
had  startling  confirmation  in  the  results  of  the  study  made  of 
the  religious  life  and  thought  of  the  young  men  of  the  American 
army  during  the  Great  War.^  These  results  may  be  briefly  sum- 
marized as  follows:  (1)  The  number  of  those  who  expressed 
themselves  as  having  no  religious  faith  was  negligible.  The 
majority  of  the  men  were  nominally  Christians,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion had  some  church  connection;  but  the  number  who  were 
conscious  Christians  and  in  active,  vital  connection  with  the 
church  was  relatively  small.  (2)  Probably  the  most  outstanding 
fact  emerging  from  the  investigation  is  the  widespread  ignorance 
as  to  the  meaning  of  Christianity  and  the  misunderstanding  of 
the  fundamentals  of  Christian  faith  and  life — and  that  not  only 
among  men  outside  the  church  but  also  among  those  nominally 
in  its  membership.  It  is  evident,  declare  those  in  charge  of  this 
investigation,  that  "in  recent  years  the  church  has  signally  failed 
as  a  teacher  of  religion." 

When  a  pupil  has  attained  clear  conceptions  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion  and  is  living  in  accordance 
with  the  teachings  of  Christ,  the  purpose  of  religious  instruction 
may  be  said  to  be  measurably  accomplished.  Even  then,  how- 
ever, there  remain  vast  ranges  of  information  and  knowledge  by 
which  his  mind  may  be  still  further  enriched.  To  lead  our 
pupils  in  a  constantly  increasing  understanding  and  appreciation 
of  all  that  has  religious  significance  may  be  said  to  be  embraced 
within  the  purpose  of  religious  instruction. 


^Religion  Amono  American  Men.      The  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Relifioua 
Outlook. 


GENERAL  METHOD  OF  INSTRUCTION       19 

Instruction  Fulfilled  in  Conduct. — As  indicated  in  the  fore- 
going statement  the  purpose  of  instruction  is  more  than  informa- 
tion; its  purpose  is  fully  accomplished  only  when  the  implica- 
tion of  the  truth  for  conduct  is  realized  in  the  pupiVs  life.  When 
the  pupil  not  only  hears  the  truth  but  gives  to  it  the  assent  of 
his  will  and  modifies  his  conduct  in  accordance  with  it,  then,  and 
then  only,  <!an  it  be  said  that  the  purpose  of  instruction  is  accom- 
plished. This  is  a  principle  often  overlooked  by  teachers.  They 
are  content  with  the  memorization  of  facts  about  the  Bible  and 
of  Golden  Texts.  But  what  do  these  avail  if  they  are  without 
influence  upon  conduct  and  character?  We  need  to  remember 
that  our  pupils  may  have  an  acquaintance  with  numberless  Bible 
facts  and  be  able  to  recite  many  verses,  even  entire  chapters,  yet 
our  teaching  may  have  been  ineffective.  Religious  truth  is  in- 
tended not  merely  for  contemplation;  it  is  fulfilled  in  action. 

Principles   That   Condition    Instruction 

We  might  profitably  consider  at  very  much  greater  length  the 
purposes  served  by  religious  instruction.  We  have  at  least  gone 
far  enough  to  see  that  instruction  has  an  important  place  in 
religious  education.  Our  next  questions  are  these:  How  may 
these  purposes  be  realized?  What  are  the  principles  that  govern 
effective  instruction?  These  raise  a  problem  so  broad  and  so 
involved  that  we  can  barely  touch  upon  it  within  the  limits  of 
so  brief  a  treatment  as  this.  It  involves  the  whole  subject  of 
the  learning  process.^  All  that  can  be  done  is  to  present  very 
briefly  a  few  of  the  most  important  elementary  principles  that 
condition  all  effective  religious  instruction. 

Getting  Hold  of  New  Ideas. — No  matter  what  age  a  teacher's 
pupils  may  be  they  are  in  possession  of  a  store  of  religious  ideas. 
Even  the  beginner,  coming  to  the  Sunday  school  for  the  first 
time,  will  be  found  to  have  previously  acquired  some  religious 
ideas.  This  present  stock  of  ideas,  no  matter  how  poor  or  in- 
adequate it  may  be,  is  the  pupil's  only  clue  to  the  meaning  of  a 
new  idea.  The  new  idea,  when  it  is  laid  hold  of  by  the  aid  of 
what  is  already  in  the  mind,  in  turn  modifies  the  old.  These  are 
the  two  phases  of  what  is  called  "apperception,"  or  the  process 
of  getting  hold  of  a  new  idea.  Much  of  the  ineffectiveness  of 
Sunday-school  teachers — or,  for   that  matter,  of  all  teachers — 


1  Some  acquaintance  with  elementary  psychology  is  assumed  as  a  prerequisite  of  the 
present  course.  Students  who  have  not  made  such  a  study  should  res  i  some  good 
textbook  such  as  Human  Behavior,  Colvin  and  Bagley. 


20  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

is  due  to  neglect  of  the  principle  of  apperception.  Everywhere 
teachers  are  prone  to  imagine  that  knowledge  may  be  "imparted" 
by  mere  "telling,"  and  that  if  a  pupil  can  repeat  parrot-like 
what  he  has  been  told  he  has  given  evidence  of  knowledge.  This 
false  notion  results  in  scraps  of  information,  miscellaneous  facts 
of  much  or  little  significance,  and  unrelated  details  that  never 
work  out  either  in  thought  or  in  conduct.  One  teaches  effectively 
only  by  taking  into  account  the  ideas  already  present  when 
trying  to  teach  new  ones.  Everything  to  be  learned  must  be 
related  to  that  already  known.  Coe  thus  states  the  practical 
consequences  of  this  principle:  "(1)  Do  not  attempt  to  give  the 
pupil  new  ideas  but  help  him  to  work  over  his  old  ones.  (2) 
Consider  what  experience  that  the  child  has  already  had  is  best 
adapted  to  interpret  the  new  idea.  (3)  Relate  the  new  to  the  old 
by  comparisons  and  contrasts,  seeing  to  it  that  the  pupil  defines 
for  himself  the  new  idea." 

The  Necessity  of  Repetition. — The  rebellious  men  of  Jeru- 
salem whom  Isaiah  vainly  sought  to  admonish  and  instruct  made 
the  mocking  reply  to  his  message  of  judgment:  "Whom  is  he 
going  to  teach  knowledge,  and  upon  whom  is  he  trying  to  force 
'the  Message,'  as  he  calls  it?  .  .  .  Are  we  school  children,  that  he 
treats  us  with  his  endless  platitudes  and  repetitions — precept 
upon  precept,  precept  upon  precept,  line  upon  line,  and  line  upon 
line?"^  Whatever  may  have  been  the  effect  of  the  prophet's 
teaching  upon  the  bibulous  men  of  his  day,  there  can  be  no 
question  but  what  he  had  laid  hold  of  an  important  principle. 
All  moral  and  religious  instruction  to  be  made  effective  in  life 
must  be  "precept  upon  precept,  line  upon  line."  We  do  not  mean 
by  this  the  mere  repetition  of  religious  truths  in  identical  form. 
Such  repetitions  might  result  in  fixing  the  bare  statement  of  the 
truth  in  the  pupil's  memory  without  in  the  least  influencing  his 
conduct  or  character.  What  is  required  is  that  the  pupil  shall  be 
aided  to  understand  and  be  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  gospel  through  their  statement  and  re- 
statement and  through  instance  after  instance  of  their  applica- 
tion being  brought  to  his  attention.  Davidson  gives  two  illus- 
trations in  emphasizing  this  principle.  He  says:  "The  spiritual 
truth  'The  wages  of  sin  is  death'  is  just  so  many  words  to  young 
children  and  cannot  possibly  be  understood  and  believed  in  till 
the  child  has  had  much  experience  in  life  and  can  reflect  upon 
that  experience.    Part  of  the  meaning — namely,  the  material  and 


George  Adam  Smith's  paraphrase  of  Isa.  28.  9,  10. 


GENERAL   METHOD    OF    INSTRUCTION  21 

visible  consequences  of  sin — can  be  illustrated  through  the  story 
of  some  sinful  action  and  its  visible  material  consequences.  But 
even  as  regards  this,  the  material  side  of  the  truth,  instance 
after  instance  of  its  application  must  be  presented  to  the  child 
before  he  can  be  expected  to  be  convinced  of  the  truth.  Again, 
take  the  precept  'Love  your  neighbor  as  yourself.*  The  child 
cannot  be  expected  to  believe  in  the  universal  application  of  the 
precept  until  he  sees  or  hears  of  numerous  instances  where 
people  have  loved  their  neighbor  as  themselves.  The  many  in- 
stances are  necessary,  first,  to  show  him  the  possibility  of  obey- 
ing the  precept,  and,  secondly,  to  act  as  models  or  examples  for 
his  own  conduct  toward  his  neighbor."^ 

Variety  in  Method. — There  are  various  methods  of  instruc- 
tion, or  ways  a  teacher  may  proceed  in  the  presentation  of  lesson 
material.  The  particular  method  or  methods  to  be  used  at  a 
given  time  will  depend  on  the  age  and  grade  of  the  pupils,  the 
nature  of  the  lesson  material,  and  the  immediate  aim  that  it  is 
desired  to  accomplish.  There  is  no  one  test  method  of  instruc- 
tion. No  one  method  is  suited  to  all  ages,  or  to  all  kinds  of 
lessons,  or  to  the  accomplishment  of  all  ends.  Some  teachers 
succeed  better  in  the  use  of  a  particular  method  than  do  others. 
Allowance  must  be  made  for  the  personal  factor.  No  one  method 
of  instruction  can  be  successfully  used  week  after  week  and 
month  after  month.  The  best  method  used  constantly  becomes 
monotonous  and  dull.  To  form  a  habit  of  proceeding  in  the  same 
way  Sunday  after  Sunday  in  presenting  the  lesson  means  to  fall 
Into  a  rut  and  to  encourage  restlessness  and  unresponsiveness  in 
one's  pupils.  The  efficient  teacher  will  develop  skill  in  the  use 
of  a  variety  of  methods  of  instruction. 

Induction  and  Deduction. — Considered  in  general  terms, 
there  may  be  said  to  be  two  principal  ways  of  procedure  in  the 
presentation  of  material:  The  one  aims  to  lead  the  pupil  to 
observe,  think,  question,  and  discover  for  himself.  This  is 
variously  spoken  of  as  the  discovery  method,  the  developmental 
method,  or  the  inductive  method.  The  other  begins  with  gen- 
eral truths,  precepts,  principles,  rules,  or  laws,  and  leads  the 
pupil  to  apply  them  to  individual  conduct.  This  is  the  deductive 
method. 

(a)  Examples  of  the  two  ways  of  procedure. — Two  teachers 
taught  a  lesson  on  "Peter's  Ministry  to  a  Lame  Man"   (Acts  3. 


^  Means  and  Methods  in  the  Religious  Education  of  the  Young,  page  23. 


22  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

1-16).  The  aim  of  both  was  to  strengthen  in  their  pupils  the 
desire  and  purpose  to  give  such  as  they  have  in  time,  money,  and 
skill  in  service  to  the  unfortunate,  the  dependent,  and  the  delin- 
quent. The  first  teacher  began  by  reading  the  lesson  and  then 
proceeded  as  follows:  "How  long  was  this  after  the  day  of 
Pentecost?  Was  this  a  typical  instance  of  Peter's  work  follow- 
ing the  outpouring  of  Pentecost?  Why  did  the  beggar  select  the 
gate  of  the  Temple  as  his  place  of  solicitation?  It  was  the  hour 
of  prayer,  and  Peter  and  John  were  going  up  into  the  Temple. 
What  gifts  did  Peter  and  John  not  possess  which  very  many 
in  the  throng  of  worshipers  that  day  had  in  abundance?  Did 
Peter  or  John  lament  their  lack?  What  did  Peter  say  to  the 
lame  man?  What  gift  had  they  for  the  poor  cripple?  May  we 
as  Christians  have  a  like  gift?  Peter  gave  something  better  than 
material  relief;  but  all  that  he  gave,  he  gave  in  personal  ministry. 
The  church  must  have  a  transforming  spiritual  power  in  its 
ministry  to  a  world  of  need.  Nothing  else  will  take  the  place  of 
this.  This  power  must  be  given  through  the  personal  touch. 
Let  us  each  one  ask  himself:  'What  part  am  I  to  have  in  service 
to  the  unfortunate?    What  can  I  do  this  week?'" 

While  this,  perhaps,  would  not  be  considered  a  typical  example 
of  deduction  it  conforms  quite  largely  to  the  deductive  method 
and  it  fairly  represents  a  very  prevalent  method  of  Sunday- 
school  teaching. 

The  second  teacher  asked  a  Christian  physician  who  was  a 
member  of  the  church  to  tell  in  five  minutes  what  orthopedic 
surgery  is,  and  what  wonders  it  is  able  to  perform.  The  teacher 
prefaced  the  physician's  statement  by  presenting  some  statistics 
on  the  number  of  children  in  the  city,  the  State,  and  the  nation 
who  are  crippled  in  the  feet.  After  the  physician  had  spoken,  the 
teacher  started  a  discussion  by  asking:  "Why  do  doctors  per- 
form such  cures?  Is  it  for  money?  Why  do  they  do  it  in  the 
many  charity  cases?  Why  are  hospitals  for  crippled  children 
established  and  supported?  What  is  the  spirit  that  has  prompted 
all  this?"  (The  Christian  spirit  of  helpfulness.)  Next  the 
teacher,  by  a  few  skillful  questions,  got  the  story  of  the  lesson 
from  the  class.  Then  he  proceeded:  "How  did  Peter  come  by 
this  spirit  of  helpfulness?  What  made  him  offer  the  helping 
hand?  Had  Peter  had  before  him  an  illustration  of  such  con- 
duct? What  about  Peter's  own  mother-in-law?  Peter  had  the 
spirit  of  Jesus,  had  he  not?  Did  Peter  have  what  the  lame  man 
asked  for?  Was  money  what  the  man  really  needed,  or  was  his 
real  need  deeper?     What  did  Peter  give?"     By  other  questions 


GENERAL   METHOD    OF    INSTRUCTION  23 

the  teacher  tried  to  lead  the  class  to  see  that  Peter  shared  his 
greatest  possessions  with  the  lame  man — his  love,  his  faith  in 
Jesus,  the  brotherly  touch  of  sympathy.  He  then  concluded: 
"What  is  our  responsibility  toward  the  dependent  and  delin- 
quent?   In  what  ways  can  our  responsibility  be  met?" 

The  second  teacher,  it  will  be  noted,  began  with  the  concrete 
and  wholly  by  a  process  of  questioning  led  the  pupils  to  state 
the  general  principle,  to  furnish  illustrations  of  the  principle  in 
the  life  of  Peter,  and,  finally,  to  point  out  how  all  could  apply 
the  principle. 

Which  of  the  two  teachers  taught  more  effectively?  Why  do 
you  think  so? 

(ft)  The  use  of  induction. — Extensive  use  should  be  made  of 
the  inductive  method  in  religious  teaching.  As  a  rule  it  is  much 
more  effective  to  lead  pupils  by  questions  and  suggestions  to 
discover  and  state  general  truths  and  principles  for  themselves 
than  it  is  to  hand  these  over  readymade.  The  more  concrete  our 
teaching,  the  more  interesting  it  will  be;  the  more  largely  it 
grows  out  of  life  and  the  pupil's  own  observation,  the  greater 
the  hold  it  will  have  upon  them.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  of  the 
inductive  lesson  as  stopping  short  with  the  mere  discovery  of 
facts  and  truths.  When  it  is  properly  used,  the  pupil  is  led  on 
to  apply  the  truth  in  his  own  life  and  conduct.  It  is  true  that 
the  inductive  method  is  limited  by  the  inability  of  pupils  to  make 
original  discoveries.  This  is  strongly  emphasized  by  Thorndike/ 
Nevertheless,  it  is  time  well  spent  to  try  to  arrive  at  universal 
truths  and  important  principles  through  a  patient,  tactful  appeal 
to  the  pupils'  own  observation,  experience,  and  knowledge. 

(c)  TUe  use  of  deduction. — The  fact  remains  that  there  is  a 
real  place  for  deductive  teaching.  There  are  many  statements 
of  truth,  moral  laws,  and  principles  of  conduct  which  find 
expression  in  lessons  from  the  Bible  that  it  is  difficult,  if  not 
actually  impossible,  to  develop  inductively  on  the  basis  of  the 
limited  observation  and  experience  of  one's  pupils.  For  example, 
take  the  great  beatitude  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart:  for  they 
shall  see  God,"  or  Paul's  great  declaration  "The  wages  of  sin  is 
death."  Again,  the  limitation  of  time  under  which  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher  labors  makes  it  necessary  that  much  of  the  teach- 
ing must  be  of  the  deductive  kind.  The  inductive  process,  if 
rigidly  adhered  to,  requires  much  time.  Yet  again,  the  deductive 
lesson  gives  larger  place  to  the  application  of  the  truth. 


1  Education,  pages  195-96. 


24  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

The  Place  of  Telling  in  Instruction 

The  common  practice  in  Sunday-school  teaching  Is  for  the 
teacher  to  do  most  of  the  talking.  Observation  will  reveal  the 
fact  that  in  most  classes  the  teachers  talk  almost  continuously 
throughout  the  lesson  period.  This  raises  the  question  of  the 
place  that  telling  should  have  in  moral  and  religious  instruction. 
Is  it  wise  for  the  teacher  to  do  all  or  even  the  larger  part  of  the 
talking?  The  form  of  instruction  in  which  talking  to  the  class 
predominates  is  commonly  called  the  telling  method,  or  the 
lecture  method. 

Usually  the  easiest  mode  of  procedure  is  for  the  teacher  merely 
to  talk  to  the  class.  Talking  requires  less  ingenuity  and  less 
mental  exertion  than  any  other  form  of  instruction.  The  teacher 
who  is  inclined  to  take  the  line  of  least  resistance  is  certain  to 
fall  into  the  habit  of  lecturing  to  his  class.  This,  of  course,  does 
not  justify  the  use  of  the  lecture  method.  We  are  not  seeking 
the  easiest  but  rather  the  most  efficient  methods  of  instruction. 

Advantages  of  the  Ijecture  Method. — That  there  are  cer- 
tain advantages  in  telling  as  a  method  of  instruction  is  beyond 
dispute: 

(a)  It  is  economical  of  time.  This,  as  Thorndike  suggests,  is 
perhaps  its  chief  advantage.  Alone  this  would  justify  its  use  to 
some  extent,  at  least,  in  Sunday-school  teaching,  since  the  time 
at  the  command  of  the  Sunday  school  is  so  limited. 

(b)  It  supplies  information.  Telling  is  practically  the  only 
way  our  pupils  can  be  put  into  possession  of  facts  of  information 
and  explanation  essential  to  the  understanding  of  many  Biblical 
statements.  To  require  the  pupils  to  find  for  themselves  certain 
facts,  the  need  for  which  may  only  be  discovered  in  the  discus- 
sion of  a  lesson  passage,  might  involve  a  long  search  through 
inaccessible  books  of  reference. 

(c)  It  is  less  eml)arrassing  to  some.  In  teaching  adult  classes 
the  lecture  method  relieves  many  men  and  women  from  the 
embarrassment  that  would  attend  the  use  of  any  other  method. 
Undoubtedly  many  adults  prefer  to  attend  a  class  in  which  they 
will  not  be  called  upon  to  answer  questions  or  to  express  them- 
selves in  any  way.  Early  educational  advantages  were  denied 
them  or  were  neglected;  they  may  have  very  little  leisure  time 
for  reading  or  study;  not  infrequently  their  feeling  on  this  matter 
deserves  respect.  Granted  that  they  would  get  more  out  of  the  class 
work  through  active  participation  in  discussion,  if  they  are  un- 


GENERAL   METHOD    OF    INSTRUCTION  25 

willing  to  do  so,  it  is  better  to  use  the  lecture  method  than  to 
lose  them. 

Disadvantages  of  the  Lecture  Method. — Telling  as  a  teach- 
ing method  has  come  into  disfavor  among  educators.  The  reasons 
are  readily  understood: 

(a)  It  makes  the  pupil  a  mere  hearer  instead  of  a  doer.  The 
pupil  takes  in  but  does  not  give  out.  No  demand  is  made  upon 
him  for  expression,  for  self-activity,  for  creative  effort.  It  does 
not  develop  the  power  to  think,  to  formulate  a  problem,  or  to 
solve  it. 

(&)  The  teacher  has  no  way  of  checking  up  on  his  work.  He 
has  no  means  of  determining  whether  or  not  the  pupil  under- 
stands him;  whether  he  is  getting  the  ideas  he  means  to  convey 
or  totally  different  ideas.  He  may  be  spending  his  time  wholly  in 
telling  what  the  pupils  already  know. 

(c)  The  pupil  remembers  very  little  of  what  he  hears.  If 
there  is  no  demand  upon  him  for  expression,  what  he  is  told 
seldom  becomes  a  part  of  his  mental  life.  There  is  "no  im- 
pression without  expression." 

{d)  Telling,  used  exclusively,  tends  to  deteriorate  into  mere 
entertainment.  The  teacher  who  lectures  to  his  class  is  under 
strong  temptation  to  make  his  talks  popular  and  entertaining. 
The  element  of  actual  instruction  gradually  diminishes.  The 
teacher  of  a  boys'  or  girls'  class  who  merely  talks  to  the  class 
is  likely  to  feel  impelled  to  talk  about  things  that  compel  interest. 
Cases  are  not  unknown  in  which  that  which  finally  resulted  was 
mostly  desultory  talk,  without  moral  or  religious  significance. 

Use  of  the  Lecture  Method. — When,  then,  should  telling  be 
used  as  a  method  of  instruction?  Consideration  of  the  ad- 
vantages and  disadvantages  of  the  method  shows  that  the  danger 
is  chiefly  in  the  wrong  use  and  in  the  overuse  of  telling  in  teach- 
ing. Telling  should  always  have  in  view  some  worth-while, 
definite  purpose.  There  is  no  place  in  the  class  period  for  mere 
aimless  talk. 

(a)  Usually  telling  should  he  combined  with  other  methods  of 
instruction  or  followed  ty  another  method  that  does  what  telling 
fails  to  do.  Telling  has  its  place  in  instruction  but  it  should 
not  be  used  exclusively. 

(ft)  Telling  may  he  used  as  a  means  of  explanation  and  of 
furnishing  fact  information,  illustration,  and  other  important 
supplemental  material.  Even  illustration  by  means  of  objects, 
pictures,  and  diagrams  requires  to  be  accompanied  by  consider- 


26  PRINCIPLES    OF   RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

able  explanation.  Frequently  it  happens  that  the  teacher's  illus- 
trations, examples  from  life,  and  informal  discussion  do  more 
than  anything  else  to  inspire  and  stimulate  the  moral  and 
spiritual  ideals  of  the  pupils.* 

(c)  The  lecture  method  should  have  a  recognized  place  in  the 
religious  instruction  of  adults.  An  able  Bible  teacher  who  is  at 
the  same  time  a  resourceful  and  gifted  speaker  may  attract  to 
the  Sunday  school  many  adults,  especially  men,  who  could  not 
be  reached  by  any  other  means.  Every  Sunday  school  might  well 
have  at  least  one  lecture  class.  In  other  classes  the  lecture 
method  might  well  be  used  occasionally,  or  lecture  courses  on 
special  subjects  offered  at  intervals. 

Constructive  Task 

1.  Observe  the  teaching  of  a  particular  lesson  by  some  good 
teacher.  As  you  observe,  have  in  mind  these  questions:  What 
purpose  seems  to  be  uppermost  in  the  teacher's  mind?  Which* 
of  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  lesson  statement  are  in  evi- 
dence?   Afterward  write  out  answers  to  these  questions. 

2.  Considering  further  this  same  lesson:  How  would  you  de- 
scribe the  method  used  by  the  teacher?  Was  the  method  used 
adapted  to  the  grade  of  the  pupils? 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 

In  the  library 

1.  The  technique  of  instruction:   Classroom  Method  and  Man- 
agement,  Betts,  Chapter  IX. 

2.  The  lecture  method  of  instruction:   The  Educative  Process, 
Bagley,  pages  270-75. 


^  Compare  statement  on  lecturing  in  How  to  Teach,  Strayer  and  Norsworth  ,  pages 
207-11. 


CHAPTER  III 
TYPES  OP  INSTRUCTION:  THE  STORY 

One  of  the  notable  characters  of  the  fifteenth  century  was 
Jean  de  Gerson.  He  was  a  great  educator.  As  chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Paris  he  held  the  foremost  educational  position 
of  his  day.  He  was  a  religious  statesman;  in  the  great  Council 
of  Constance  none  exercised  greater  influence  than  he.  His 
highest  distinction,  however,  was  that  he  was  a  friend  of  chil- 
dren and,  out  of  his  busy  life,  gave  time  to  the  children  of  the 
poor,  teaching  them  of  their  heavenly  Father's  love  and  care. 
In  recognition  of  this  the  people  of  the  time  bestowed  upon  him 
the  title  "Doctor  of  Little  Children."  Of  titles  to  be  coveted  there 
is  none  more  highly  honorable  than  this.  It  is  one  that  might 
well  be  bestowed  upon  the  story-teller — the  man  or  woman  who 
loves  stories,  appreciates  their  value,  knows  where  good  stories 
are  to  be  found  and  how  to  tell  them  well. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  the  place  of  telling  in  religious  in- 
struction was  briefly  considered.  We  were  then  thinking  more 
especially  of  young  people  and  adults  than  of  little  children. 
The  lecture  as  an  example  of  the  "telling"  method  was  chiefly 
discussed.  The  story  is  another  example  of  this  method  and  it 
now  claims  our  attention. 

The  Story  in  Religious  Instruction 

The  Importance  of  the  Story. — "We  now  recognize  in  story- 
telling," says  St.  John,  "the  earliest,  the  simplest,  and,  so  far  as 
moral  influence  is  concerned,  the  most  universally  effective  means 
of  impressing  upon  a  new  generation  the  lessons  that  have  been 
learned  by  those  who  have  gone  before."^  That  is  to  say,  of  all 
means  of  moral  and  religious  teaching  the  story  is  the  most 
important.  Why  does  so  great  importance  attach  to  the  story? 
Think  of  your  own  experience  in  hearing  stories  and,  if  you  have 
used  stories  in  teaching,  think  also  of  your  experience  in  telling 
them  and  set  down  some  reasons  why  the  story  is  entitled  to  be 
considered   so   important   a  means   of  teaching.     In   brief,   the 


1  Stories  and  Story-Telling,  page  vii. 

27 


28  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

Importance  of  the  story  may  be  said  to  arise  from  three  con- 
siderations: 

(a)  The  story  is  the  most  fascinating  form  of  truth  to  the 
child.  The  story  is  important  because  of  the  universal  and  in- 
tense joy  children  have  in  hearing  stories.  It  is  perfectly  natural 
for  children  to  want  to  hear  stories.  They  hunger  for  them. 
They  live  and  move  in  a  world  of  stories.  To  compel  them  to  do 
without  stories  is  to  restrict  them,  limit  them,  and  deprive  them 
of  a  life  element.  The  surest  and  quickest  way  to  win  the  con- 
fidence and  love  of  our  pupils  is  to  tell  them  stories. 

(6)  The  story  is  the  simplest  form  of  teaching.  In  the  child- 
hood of  the  race,  long  before  there  were  Sunday  schools — or  any 
kind  of  schools,  for  that  matter — stories  were  told  by  fathers  to 
their  children,  by  the  tribal  chiefs  to  their  tribesmen,  and  by  the 
sages,  or  wise  men,  to  those  whom  they  taught.  The  innumer- 
able legends,  myths,  folk  tales,  and  fables  that  form  so  consider- 
able a  part  of  our  literature  bear  witness  to  the  power  and  value 
of  the  story  as  the  most  simple  and  enduring  form  of  teaching. 
We  may  teach  effectively  by  the  story  when  all  other  means 
fail.  Nils,  the  stupid,  could  not  answer  a  single  one  of  the 
schoolmaster's  questions  on  the  geography  lesson;  but  when  the 
teacher  had  the  happy  inspiration  of  making  over  the  lesson  into 
a  story,  long  afterward  he  remembered  every  word. 

(c)  The  story  is  the  most  adaptal}le  form  of  teaching.  It  lends 
itself  readily  to  almost  any  content.  "The  story  is  not  history, 
but  there  may  be  historic  stories;  the  story  is  not  science,  but 
there  may  be  scientific  stories;  the  story  is  not  ethics,  but  there 
may  be  moral  stories."^ 

The  Values  of  the  Story. — The  considerations  just  urged  are 
to  the  point  in  thinking  of  the  values  of  the  story.  What  addi- 
tional values  may  be  suggested?  Some  of  the  most  significant 
are  stated  by  Froebel:  "Ear  and  heart  open  to  the  genuine  story- 
teller, as  the  blossoms  open  to  the  sun  of  spring  and  to  the 
vernal  rain.  Mind  breathes  mind;  power  feels  power  and  absorbs 
it,  as  it  were.  The  telling  of  a  story  refreshes  the  mind  as  a 
bath  refreshes  the  body;  it  gives  exercise  to  the  intellect  and  its 
powers;  it  tests  the  judgment  and  the  feelings."*  A  few  of  the 
values  suggested  in  this  quotation  and  some  others  may  well  be 
considered  somewhat  more  in  detail: 

(a)   The  story  makes  a  strong  appeal  to  interest.    The  most 


1  Story-Tellino,  Qwstioning,  and  Studying,  Horne,  page  36. 

*  The  Education  of  Man,  page  307. 


TYPES  OF  INSTRUCTION:  THE  STORY      29 

listless  and  disinterested  pupil  pricks  up  his  ears  the  moment  a 
story  is  announced.  This  is  of  the  utmost  significance,  for  in- 
terest is  at  the  basis  of  all  learning.  What  the  pupil  is  interested 
in  he  attends  to;  what  receives  his  attention  is  likely  to  be 
remembered;  what  he  remembers  influences  his  conduct  and  de- 
termines his  character. 

(&)  The  story  nurtures  the  emotions  and  creates  desirable 
attitudes  of  mind.  Whatever  nurtures  desirable  emotions  en- 
riches the  pupils'  lives.  The  story  does  this.  First  of  all,  it 
gives  joy  and  the  feeling  of  satisfaction.  It  also  awakens  sym- 
pathy. How  many  times  have  we  seen  tears  fill  the  eyes  of  a 
child  at  that  point  of  a  simple  story  when  the  subject — be  it  bird, 
animal,  or  person — falls  into  danger  or  is  called  upon  to  suffer 
pain  or  misfortune!  The  story  creates  desire.  The  boy  or  the 
girl  in  the  story  is  pictured  as  ardently  desiring  some  good;  a 
like  desire  springs  into  life  in  the  heart  of  the  one  who  hears 
the  story.  If  it  is  well  chosen  for  the  purposes  of  moral  and 
religious  teaching  the  story  creates  various  healthful,  desirable 
attitudes  of  mind  toward  what  Is  true  and  pure  and  right  and 
good. 

When  the  teacher  for  any  reason  considers  it  Important  to 
use  some  form  of  direct  instruction,  perhaps  a  moral  precept  or 
injunction,  one  of  the  quickest  and  most  effective  ways  of  assur- 
ing a  receptive  mood  and  favorable  response  is  a  suitable  story. 
The  experience  of  lawyers  in  trying  cases,  of  politicians  in  appeal- 
ing to  the  people  for  support,  and  of  ministers  in  preaching  the 
gospel  affords  abundant  evidence  of  this. 

(c)  The  story  is  an  effective  means  of  training  in  moral  con- 
duct. As  opportunity  offers,  the  attitudes  of  mind  created  by 
the  story  are  expressed  in  action.  The  beginners'  or  primary 
teacher  who  retells  a  story  is  often  gratified  by  the  simple  testi- 
mony of  the  pupil  indicating  that,  without  any  urging  on  her 
part,  some  kindly,  helpful  deed  has  been  done,  prompted  by  the 
example  the  story  pictured  when  it  was  first  told.  The  signifi- 
cance of  this  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  Our  purpose,  we 
have  said  repeatedly,  is  the  development  and  training  of  our 
pupils  in  Christian  character  and  service.  If  by  means  of  stories 
we  place  before  them  situations  in  which  right  moral  and 
religious  conduct  is  pictured  we  are  using  the  surest  means  of 
inducing  like  conduct  on  their  part,  the  most  certain  means  of 
forming  those  habits  which  are  the  foundations  of  Christian 
character. 

Even  when  suitable  opportunity  of  expression  is  not  afforded. 


30  PRINCIPLES    OP    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

the  conduct  that  the  story  pictures  is  relived  in  thought,  and 
thereby  standards  and  ideals  are  formed  which  will  influence 
future  conduct.  One  of  the  peculiar  elements  of  strength  in  the 
story  as  a  means  of  moral  teaching  is  its  way  of  presenting 
situations  that  involve  a  choice  of  right  or  wrong  on  the  part  of 
the  actor.  Instinctively  the  child  identifies  himself  with  the 
actor  in  the  story.  In  a  more  or  less  real  sense  he  shares  in  the 
reward  or  realizes  the  penalty.  Thus,  these  rewards  and  penal- 
ties become  almost  as  influential  in  forming  his  standards  and 
ideals  as  if  he  had  experienced  them  in  actual  life.  Moreover, 
the  story  has  an  additional  value  in  this  connection.  "The 
sanctions  of  morality  and  religion,  the  rewards  and  penalties, 
the  mainsprings  of  conduct,  must  be  apparent  and  more  or  less 
immediate  to  the  child  if  the  moral  and  religious  lesson  is  to  be 
effective.  In  actual  life  these  are  not  always  obvious  and  often 
seem  far  removed  in  point  of  time;  whereas  in  the  story  punish- 
ment is  swift,  and  reward  immediate,  so  that  the  child  soon 
perceives  what  the  results  of  good  and  bad  conduct  are."^ 

Kinds  of  Stories. — The  simplest  classification  of  stories  for 
use  in  moral  and  religious  teaching  is  that  most  commonly 
given — namely,  idealistic  stories  and  realistic  stories. 

Idealistic  stories  include  fairy  stories,  folk  tales,  myths, 
legends,  fables,  and  allegories.  Of  these  the  first  three  are 
suitable  for  use  with  pupils  of  the  elementary  grades,  the  last 
four  more  especially  with  older  boys  and  girls  and  with  adults. 
Inexperienced  teachers  sometimes  question  whether  idealistic 
stories  are  suitable  for  use  in  moral  and  religious  instruction 
since  they  are  not  literally  true  to  fact.  The  things  told  in  fairy 
tales,  they  say,  never  really  happen.  But  the  things  that  happen 
in  fairy  stories  are  real  to  little  children — as  real  as  anything  in 
everyday  life.  Moreover,  they  are  profoundly  true  in  this:  that 
good  conduct  brings  the  reward  of  satisfaction  and  happiness, 
while  wrongdoing  receives  sure  and  speedy  punishment.  It  is  of 
interest  to  note  that  "history"  and  "story"  have  the  same  root: 
history  is  the  record  of  actual  events  in  their  setting  of  time, 
place,  and  cause;  the  story  relates  that  which  might  have  hap- 
pened "once  upon  a  time."  History  records  facts;  the  story  may 
relate  no  fact  but  is  thereby  none  the  less  truthful.  When  the 
child  reaches  the  age  at  which  he  distinguishes  between  fact 
and  fiction,  the  realistic  story  properly  takes  the  place  of  the 
idealistic.     The  hunger  of  the  little  child's  mind  for  the  ideal- 


Religioua  Training  in  the  School  and  Home,  Sneath,  Hodges,  and  Tweedy,  pa«e  60. 


TYPES  OF  INSTRUCTION:  THE  STORY      31 

istic  is  not  less  a  healthy  appetite  than  that  of  the  older  child 
for  the  narrative  of  fact;  both  are  needs  that  we  should  supply. 

The  Characteristics  of  a  Good  Story. — What  makes  a  good 
story?  Is  there  any  simple  criterion  by  which  we  may  judge  the 
quality  of  a  story?  The  child  seems  to  do  this  instinctively, 
although  even  little  children  have  some  variety  of  taste  as  to 
stories.  Older  persons  are  obliged  sometimes  to  relearn  through 
the  laborious  processes  of  study  what  the  child  possesses  by 
nature.  If  we  compare  the  statements  of  several  of  the  writers 
who  have  treated  this  subject  with  some  thoroughness  we  find 
substantial  agreement.  Bryant,  in  listing  the  characteristics  to 
be  looked  for,  names  action  in  close  sequence;  familiar  images 
tinged  with  mystery;  some  degree  of  repetition.  St.  John  names 
action,  suggestiveness,  unity,  plot,  narrative,  and  richness  of 
material.  "A  good  story,"  says  Home,  "is  very  human,  very  con- 
crete, very  intelligible,  and  universal  in  appeal."  Other  writers 
give  similar  lists,  varying  slightly.  To  put  the  matter  briefly 
we  may  feel  assured  that  if  a  story  possesses  action,  is  concrete 
and  suggestive,  presents  ideas  and  imagery  familiar  to  pupils  of 
the  age  for  which  it  is  to  be  chosen,  and  is  true  to  life,  it  will  be 
found  to  meet  the  essential  tests  of  a  good  story. 

The  Art  of  Story-Tellinq 

Story-telling  is  an  art,  and  the  teacher  can  well  afford  to  make 
a  special  study  of  it.  We  can  give  here  only  a  few  brief  hints 
for  general  guidance: 

Preparation  for  Telling  the  Story. — Preparation  may 
properly  begin  with  discrimination  in  the  choice  of  the  story  to 
be  told. 

(a)  TJie  purpose  of  the  story. — One  may  well  consider  what 
it  is  most  desirable  to  teach.  What  do  my  pupils  need  to  be 
taught  at  this  particular  time?  Can  I  find  a  story  that  will  serve 
this  purpose?  If  the  teacher  has  a  particular  purpose  in  view, 
as  it  is  important  that  he  should  have,  not  just  any  story  will 
do;  careful  selection  is  necessary. 

(ft)  Knowing  the  story. — To  tell  a  story  well  one  must  be 
thoroughly  familiar  with  it.  First,  one  must  get  the  setting  of 
the  story  clearly  in  mind.  Secondly,  one  must  analyze  the  story. 
Every  story  may  be  said  to  have  a  beginning,  a  development,  a 
climax,  and  an  end.  St.  John  summarizes  the  parts  of  a  good 
story  as  follows:  The  story  must  have  a  beginning  that  rouses 
interest,  a  succession  of  events  that  is  orderly  and  complete,  a 


32  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

climax  that  forms  the  story's  point,  and  an  end  that  leaves  the 
mind  at  rest.  Read  the  story  critically  to  see  how  it  is  made  up. 
Break  it  up  into  its  component  parts.  Get  the  succession  of 
events  clearly  in  mind.  Determine  the  climax  of  the  story  and 
plan  to  make  it  the  climax  of  your  telling.  When  this  is  accom- 
plished, learn  the  story.  This  will  usually  require  that  it  be 
reread  several  times.  Committing  to  memory  every  word  of  the 
story  is  seldom  necessary.  Absolute  memorization  is  likely  to 
detract  from  spontaneity;  but  important  words,  vital  parts  of 
conversations,  and  phrases  or  sentences  that  recur  as  repetitions 
should  be  memorized  and  given  exactly. 

(c)  Appreciation  of  the  story. — It  is  not  enough  to  know  the 
story;  it  must  be  felt.  Appreciation  and  feeling  can  be  culti- 
vated when  they  are  lacking.  It  will  help  to  think  oneself  into 
the  place  of  the  child;  to  recall  the  emotions  of  childhood.  To 
the  extent  that  one  succeeds  in  relating  himself  to  the  story  as 
the  child  is  related,  appreciation  and  feeling  will  be  developed. 
Some  writers  have  the  same  thing  in  mind  when  they  emphasize 
the  importance  of  living  the  story.  The  use  of  imagination  will 
enable  the  story-teller  to  relate  himself  to  the  lessons;  and, 
becoming  a  part  of  the  story,  he  can  make  it  live  in  the  thought 
and  imagination  of  the  hearers. 

How  to  Tell  the  Story  Effectively. — The  first  thing  to  be 
said  is:  Be  sure  you  tell  it.  Often  it  will  be  easier  to  read  the 
story  than  to  tell  it.  Perhaps  time  for  adequate  preparation  has 
not  been  taken,  and  the  question  will  arise.  May  I  not  read  the 
story  instead  of  telling  it?  Reading  a  story  is  not  story-telling 
nor  is  it  in  any  sense  a  substitute  for  story-telling.  Much  every 
way  is  lost  if  the  story  is  read  and  not  told. 

(a)  Be  natural. — Avoid  affectation  both  in  manner  and  voice. 
If  you  pose  you  detract  from  attention  given  to  the  story  and 
center  it  upon  yourself.  Do  not  strive  after  effect.  Do  not  be 
absolutely  precise.    Avoid  everything  artificial. 

(b)  Be  direct. — Do  not  interject  comments  or  explanations  of 
your  own.  Use  direct  discourse.  Permit  the  actors  in  the  story, 
whether  persons,  animals,  or  plants,  to  speak  for  themselves. 

(c)  Supply  action. — The  narrative  must  move  forward  without 
unnecessary  delay.  To  hurry  will  spoil  the  effect  of  the  story, 
but  neither  will  it  do  to  be  too  deliberate.  Haste  robs  the  story 
of  its  impressiveness;  retarded  movement  causes  impatience. 
Give  attention  to  the  importance  of  gestures  and  facial  expres- 
sion.   Imitations  of  actions  are  not  in  place,  but  these  sometimes 


TYPES  OP  INSTRUCTION:  THE  STORY      33 

may  be  suggested  by  simple  gestures  or  movements.     It  is  not 
well  to  be  too  dramatic. 

(d)  Do  not  moralize. — Let  the  story  supply  its  own  moral.  If 
the  story  is  really  suited  to  teach  the  lesson  you  wish  to  enforce, 
you  may  confidently  expect  that  it  will  make  its  own  application. 
To  append  a  moral  to  a  good  story  is  to  spoil  its  effect.  Pupils 
who  will  accept  the  implicit  moral  lesson  of  a  good  story  will 
often  openly  resent  the  tacking  on  of  an  application. 

(e)  Practice. — There  is  only  one  way  to  learn  how  to  tell 
stories  with  genuine  effectiveness,  and  that  is  to  practice,  and 
continue  to  practice.  Some  may  have  a  natural  gift  that  will 
enable  them  to  become  unusually  skillful  in  the  art;  there  is 
none  who  may  not  learn  by  practice  to  tell  stories  effectively. 
No  one  need  want  for  an  audience.  Wherever  two  or  three 
children  are  gathered  together,  there  you  have  it.  "If  one  have 
neither  natural  adaptation,  nor  experience,  still  I  say,  tell  the 
stories;  tell  the  stories;  a  thousand  times,  tell  the  stories!" 

Constructive  Task 

1.  Take  some  story  that  you  love  and  study  it  for  its  qualities. 
What  makes  it  a  good  story?  What  qualities  does  it  possess  in 
common  with  other  effective  stories  familiar  to  you? 

2.  Listen  to  the  telling  of  the  lesson  story  in  one  or  more 
classes  of  the  Sunday  school.  Compare  the  methods  observed 
with  the  suggestions  under  "How  to  Tell  the  Story  Effectively." 
What  did  you  miss?    What  added  suggestions  did  you  get? 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 
In  "The  Worker  and  Work''  series 

1.  The  purpose  in   story-telling:    The  Beginners*  Worker  and 
Work,  Chapter  XV. 

2.  The  technique  of  story-telling:    The  Primary   Worker  and 
Work,  Chapter  XI. 

3.  The  integral  parts  of  a  story:  The  Junior  Worker  and  Work, 
pages  82-4. 

In  the  library 

1.  The  story  interests  of  childhood  and  of  adolescence:  Stories 
and  Story-Telling,  St.  John,  Chapters  VIII-X. 

2.  The  stories  of  the  Bible:  Educating  by  Story-Telling,  Cather, 
Chapter  XII. 

3.  The  place  of  story-telling  in  religious  education:    The  Use 
of  Stories  in  Religious  Education,  Eggleston,  Chapter  I. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TYPES   OF   INSTRUCTION:    QUESTIONING  AND   THE    DIS- 
CUSSION   METHOD 

We  have  already  noted  the  fact  that  there  are  various  ways  a 
teacher  may  proceed  in  the  presentation  of  lesson  material.  We 
have  considered  that  general  type  of  instruction  in  which  telling 
by  the  teacher  predominates.  Included  under  this,  as  we  have 
seen,  are  the  lecture  method  and  the  story  method.  We  have, 
further,  directed  attention  to  the  importance  of  expression  on  the 
part  of  the  pupil.  "No  impression  without  expression"  is  the 
familiar  statement  of  this  principle.  The  lecture  method,  as  we 
have  noted,  is  seriously  deficient  in  that  it  fails  to  provide  for 
pupil  expression.  The  means  most  commonly  used  in  getting 
expression  is  the  question,  and  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
types  of  instruction  in  which  questioning  plays  a  leading  part 
is  the  discussion  method. 

Questioning 

Next  to  the  ability  to  tell  stories  well  the  Sunday-school 
teacher  needs  to  know  how  to  ask  questions.  Joshua  G.  Fitch, 
speaking  of  Sunday-school  teaching,  says,  "The  success  and 
efficiency  of  our  teaching  depends  more  on  the  skill  and  judg- 
ment with  which  we  put  questions  than  any  other  single  cir- 
cumstance."^ 

The  Use  of  Questions  in  Teaching. — Why  is  the  question  so 
important  a  factor  in  teaching?  What  are  some  of  its  principal 
uses? 

(o)  The  question  is  a  means  of  getting  information.  In  daily 
life  this  is  the  common  use  of  the  question.  When  we  desire 
information  that  we  do  not  possess  we  ask  for  it.  The  same  use 
may  be  made  of  the  question  in  school  work. 

It  is  desirable  to  use  informational  questions,  because  they 
inspire  interest  in  pupils.  In  discussing  this  type  of  questions 
Charters  says  that  in  his  opinion  "there  is  probably  nothing 
more  inspiring  to  pupils  than  to  feel  that  they  can  make  an 


The  Art  of  Queationing,  page  2. 

34 


QUESTIONING    AND    THE    DISCUSSION   METHOD       35 

original  contribution."  No  matter  how  wise  or  well  trained  the 
teacher  may  be  he  is  not  all-wise.  A  pupil  of  very  limited  attain- 
ments may  possess  some  item  of  important  information  which 
the  teacher  has  overlooked.  The  recitation  is  a  cooperative 
enterprise  and  it  is  in  every  way  helpful  for  the  pupil  to  be 
brought  to  realize  that  he  is  expected  to  make  some  contribution. 
The  feeling  of  some  teachers  that  asking  the  pupil  for  informa- 
tion is  an  unworthy  confession  of  ignorance  usually  springs  from 
false  pride. 

The  desirable  effect  of  this  type  of  question  may  be  obtained, 
as  Charters  points  out,  by  laying  stress  upon  personal  opinion. 
"Why  did  John  the  Baptist,  in  prison,  send  his  disciples  to 
ask  Jesus  whether  he  was  the  Christ?"  is  a  question  likely  to 
be  answered  by  the  pupil's  quoting  a  statement  of  his  textbook. 
Slightly  changed  in  form,  the  question  may  be  made  to  carry  a 
stronger  appeal  of  interest:  "What  do  you  think  is  the  reason 
John  the  Baptist  sent  his  disciples  to  ask  Jesus  whether  he  was 
the  Christ?"  "This  stressing  of  individual  opinion  is  very 
valuable  wherever  there  is  any  possibility  of  difference  of 
opinion.  ...  It  is  so  important  that  teachers  should  cultivate 
it  and  use  it  whenever  possible."^ 

The  questions  that  pupils  ask  are  almost  wholly  of  the  infor- 
mational type.  Pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  ask  questions. 
They  are  an  indication  of  interest,  and  asking  a  question  in  itself 
stimulates  increased  interest. 

(&)  The  question  is  a  means  of  testing  knowledge.  By  asking 
questions  the  teacher  is  able  to  determine  whether  the  pupil 
knows  and  what  he  knows. 

There  are  two  very  important  reasons  why  the  test  for 
knowledge  should  be  used:  (1)  The  test  for  knowledge  tends  to 
hold  the  pupil  to  his  task.  Colvin  declares  that  requiring  pupils 
to  reveal,  from  time  to  time,  the  extent  of  their  achievement  in 
learning  is  "a  compelling  motive  among  all  classes  of  learners." 
(2)  The  test  for  knowledge  furnishes  the  teacher  with  the  infor- 
mation concerning  the  pupils'  progress  which  is  necessary  to 
intelligent  instruction.  Without  it  the  teacher  is  in  the  dark. 
He  may  be  spending  time  on  what  is  already  perfectly  familiar 
and  be  unaware  of  it. 

Testing  questions  that  call  for  trivial  and  obscure  facts  have 
no  real  place  in  religious  instruction  and  should  not  be  used. 
The  knowledge  called  for  should  have  some  direct  or  indirect 
moral  or  religious  significance.     The  number  of  words  In  the 


1  Methods  of  Teaching,  page  298. 


36  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

longest  verse  in  the  Bible  or  the  exact  width  of  the  Jordan  river 
at  its  widest  point  or  the  dimensions  of  Noah's  ark  may  be 
curious  facts  possessing  a  certain  kind  of  interest  to  some  minds 
but  they  have  absolutely  no  significance  for  character  or  conduct. 

(c)  The  question  is  an  important  means  of  developing  knowl- 
edge. Socrates  said  that  he  asked  questions  in  order  "to  bring 
thought  to  birth."  De  Garmo  makes  this  significant  statement: 
"The  question  is  the  guide  to  clear  and  vivid  ideas,  the  quick 
spur  to  imagination,  the  stimulus  to  thought,  the  incentive  to 
action."  Both  of  these  statements  emphasize  the  value  of  the 
question  in  stirring  the  mind  to  activity.  Questions  stimulate 
mental  activity;  they  arouse  the  mind  to  lay  hold  of  the  truth, 
to  assimilate  it,  and  to  give  it  expression.  We  have  repeatedly 
emphasized  the  necessity  of  self-activity  on  the  pupil's  part.  In 
view  of  this  the  fundamental  importance  of  the  question  is 
evident. 

The  question  not  only  leads  the  pupil  to  think:  it  may  te  used 
to  lead  the  pupil  in  his  thinking  to  new  and  more  significant 
conclusions.  The  developing  question  carries  a  hint  or  sugges- 
tion of  something  further  on.  It  may  also  contain  a  suggestion 
of  the  direction  the  mind  is  to  take  in  its  forward  movement  or 
call  attention  to  an  error  in  its  present  position  and  give  a  clue 
to  the  right  idea.  Did  Jesus  use  this  form  of  question?  Consider 
the  question  he  asked  at  the  conclusion  of  the  parable  of  the 
vineyard  (Mark  12.  10,  11)  or  that  asked  at  the  end  of  the 
parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan  (Luke  10.  36). 

Some  teachers  apparently  regard  the  question  solely  as  a 
means  of  testing  knowledge.  Their  questions  appeal  only  to  the 
pupils*  memories.  This  Is  a  weakness  in  teaching.  We  have 
more  to  do  in  religious  instruction  than  merely  to  lodge  facts 
securely  in  memory.  Questioning  should  not  be  allowed  to  be- 
come a  means  of  suggesting  to  our  pupils  that  our  interest  is 
merely  in  seeing  that  they  remember  what  they  read  or  what  we 
tell  them. 

Characteristics  of  Good  Questions. — Is  it  possible  to  sug- 
gest some  general  characteristics  of  effective  questions? 

(a)  Oood  questions  are  simple,  clear,  and  direct.  The  simpler 
the  language,  the  better.  Technical  words  should  be  avoided  as 
much  as  possible.  The  question  should  be  framed  so  as  to  admit 
of  only  one  correct  answer.  Questions  are  sometimes  puzzling 
because  they  may  be  answered  in  any  one  of  numerous  ways. 
Long,  involved  questions  are  unnecessary  and  are  always  con- 


QUESTIONING    AND    THE    DISCUSSION    METHOD       37 

fusing.  Teachers  who  frame  long  questions,  complicated  by 
parenthetical  explanations,  bristling  with  technical  words  as  a 
means  of  exhibiting  learning,  exhibit  instead  their  lack  of  skill. 

(&)  Oood  questions  are  definite,  'pertinent,  and  important. 
They  deal  with  principal  issues,  ignore  trivialities,  and  go 
straight  to  the  heart  of  things.  A  pupil  does  not  like  to  be  trifled 
with  nor  required  to  relate  unimportant  details.  An  indefinite 
question  is  likely  to  cause  confusion  of  thought  and  to  waste  the 
time  both  of  teacher  and  pupil. 

(c)  Good  questions  demand  effort  of  the  pupil.  Says  Fitch: 
"Every  question  ought  to  require  an  effort  to  answer  it;  it  may 
be  an  effort  of  memory,  or  an  effort  of  imagination,  or  an  effort 
of  judgment,  or  an  effort  of  perception;  it  may  be  a  considerable 
effort  or  it  may  be  a  slight  one:  but  it  must  be  an  effort;  and  a 
question  which  challenges  no  mental  exertion  whatever  or  does 
not  make  the  learner  think  is  worth  nothing."^ 

For  the  most  part  questions  requiring  only  a  "yes"  or  "no" 
answer  are  of  little  value.  The  way  in  which  the  question  is 
put,  the  inflection  of  the  voice,  usually  suggests  the  answer.  The 
pupil  in  answering  follows  this  or  some  other  cue  given  by  the 
teacher  and  is  moved  to  no  mental  exertion. 

Some  questions  are  ineffective  because  they  virtually  contain 
or  at  least  suggest  their  own  answer;  for  example,  "What  class 
of  people  other  than  the  scribes  did  Jesus  condemn?"  The 
answer  expected,  "The  Pharisees,"  is  so  frequently  associated  in 
the  Gospels  with  "the  scribes"  that  the  one  term  suggests  the 
other. 

An  answer  that  is  a  guess  should  never  be  accepted.  The  pupil 
should  be  required  to  explain  his  answer — to  tell  why  he  holds 
the  opinion  expressed. 

Questions  should  be  used  to  aid  expression.  The  teacher  should 
not  be  impatient  with  a  pupil  who  is  slow  in  answering.  If  a 
pupil  does  not  answer  readily  but  is  evidently  considering  how 
to  answer  he  should  be  given  time.  If  the  answer  does  not  come, 
a  slightly  different  question  that  carries  a  suggestion  may  be 
asked.  The  mental  processes  of  some  pupils  are  slower  than 
those  of  others;  their  power  of  expression  needs  cultivation. 

Not  infrequently  ineffective  teaching  is  due  to  unnecessary 
mental  sluggishness,  even  laziness,  of  teacher  or  pupils  or  of 
both.  Teacher  and  pupils  are  content  to  deal  in  words,  failing 
to  go  back  of  the  words  to  discover  and  ponder  the  ideas  that 
the  words  should  express.     Some  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus  are  so 


*  The  Art  of  Questioning,  page  43. 


38  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

simple  in  statement  and  so  familiar  that  they  are  easily  repeated 
and  are  allowed  to  pass  without  an  examination  into  their  pro- 
found meanings.  It  is  easy  for  a  pupil  to  repeat  the  words  "I 
am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches;  he  that  abideth  in  me  and  I 
in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit:  for  without  me  ye 
can  do  nothing";  but  what  profound  and  far-reaching  meanings 
are  wrapped  up  in  this  statement!  What  vital,  life-changing 
ideas  lie  back  of  the  simple  words!  For  a  pupil  merely  to  repeat 
the  words,  without  grasping  the  idea,  is  tragic.  Questions  skill- 
fully used  are  the  means  by  which  the  alert,  efficient  teacher 
may  bring  the  truth  to  bear  upon  the  pupils'  lives. 

Method  in  Questioning. — There  are  two  general  principles 
governing  method  in  questioning  which  are  of  special  import- 
ance. 

(a)  Questions  should  le  original.  A  real  question  is  expres- 
sive of  the  personality  of  the  teacher.  This  necessitates  the  use 
of  original  questions.  The  habit  of  reading  readymade  questions 
from  a  lesson  help  cannot  be  too  strongly  condemned.  This 
method  of  questioning  cannot  be  anything  other  than  formal, 
stilted,  dry,  and  mechanical.  Instead  of  awakening  interest  such 
questioning  deadens  whatever  interest  may  have  existed.  The 
influence  of  the  teacher's  personality  is  almost  lost,  being  hidden 
behind  the  lesson  leaf.  The  whole  situation  is  dull  and  lifeless — 
unless,  perhaps,  some  pupil  who  longs  to  see  something  doing  in- 
troduces some  item  of  mischief  just  to  relieve  the  intolerable 
monotony. 

In  preparing  the  lesson  it  is  well  for  the  teacher  to  write  a 
list  of  questions  as  a  part  of  the  lesson  plan.  It  is  better  for 
these  not  to  be  taken  to  the  session  at  all.  If  they  are  taken,  let 
it  be  with  the  thought  of  falling  back  upon  them  only  in  the 
event  of  a  crisis  wherein  the  springs  of  spontaneous  thought 
entirely  fail.  Still  better,  let  the  teacher  prepare  thoroughly, 
then  go  before  the  class  with  absolutely  nothing  in  hand,  throw- 
ing himself  upon  his  own  resources.  The  result  may  be  some- 
what disconcerting  at  first,  but  persistence  in  the  plan  is  certain 
to  result  in  the  development  of  real  teaching  power. 

(&)  Questioning  should  he  so  conducted  as  to  enlist  the  whole 
class.    Some  simple  suggestions  will  point  the  way: 

Ask  the  question  before  naming  the  pupil.  Let  each  member 
of  the  class  feel  that  he  may  be  called  upon  for  the  answer. 
Always  name  some  one  particular  pupil  to  reply  to  the  ques- 
tion.   Insist  upon  the  pupils'  answering  only  when  called  upon. 


QUESTIONING    AND    THE    DISCUSSION    METHOD       39 

Expect  the  attention  0/  all.  Frequently  base  a  question  directly 
upon  a  pupil's  answer,  calling  upon  a  second  pupil  to  answer 
this  question.  This  will  aid  in  training  the  class  to  give  atten- 
tion to  the  entire  discussion.  Give  no  pupil  in  the  class  reason 
to  think  that  you  do  not  expect  his  constant  attention.  Ask  a 
question  once  only.  If  the  pupil  called  upon  fails  to  understand 
through  inattention,  call  upon  another.  Do  not  form  the  ha'bit 
of  repeating  the  piipiVs  answer  after  him.  It  tends  to  make  the 
class  inattentive. 

Question  in  various  ivays.  Use  variety.  Your  practice  in 
questioning  should  not  have  so  much  sameness  that  the  pupils 
have  a  feeling  that  they  know  at  any  moment  w^ho  is  to  be  called 
upon  next.  Do  not  question  pupils  in  turn  about  the  class  circle 
or  in  alphabetical  order.  Sometimes  call  upon  the  same  pupil 
several  times  in  quick  succession.  Do  not  confine  your  questions 
to  a  few  of  the  brightest  pupils  but  be  impartial. 

The  Discussion  Method 

Discussion  has  a  very  important  part  in  the  teaching  process. 
This,  we  trust,  has  been  made  perfectly  clear.  There  is  com- 
paratively little  effective  teaching  without  free  cooperation 
between  teacher  and  pupils. 

There  is  a  type  of  instruction  in  which  the  distinctive  feature 
is  extempore  questioning  and  discussion.  This  method  we  will 
now  proceed  to  consider.  The  student  is  likely  to  be  confused  at 
this  point  because  of  the  fact  that  various  terms  are  used  in  the 
textbooks.  Some  writers  speak  of  the  "questioning  method"  or 
the  "question-and-answer  method";  others  refer  to  the  "conver- 
sation method";  or  to  the  "development  method";  while  still 
others  use  the  term  "discussion  method."  While  there  are  more 
or  less  marked  variations,  in  all  of  these  cases  the  writers  have 
the  same  general  type  of  instruction  in  mind.  All  things  con- 
sidered, the  term  "discussion  method"  seems  to  me  to  be  pref- 
erable. 

Essential   Characteristics   of   the   Method. — How  may   the 

discussion  method  be  best   described?     What  are  its  essential 
characteristics? 

(a)  It  is  a  process  of  development.  Instead  of  testing  con- 
sciously acquired  knowledge  of  an  assigned  lesson  the  teacher 
leads  the  pupils  to  think.  By  questioning  and  free  conversation 
he  leads  them  to  perceive  the  truth  the  lesson  teaches  or  to 
develop  a  group  judgment.    The  effort  is  to  educe,  or  draw  out 


40  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

and  develop,  the  truth.  Debate  and  anything  savoring  of  per- 
sonal argument  are  understood  to  be  out  of  order.  The  effort 
is  by  means  of  inquiry,  the  interchange  of  opinion,  and  the 
stimulation  of  thought  by  the  free  play  of  conversation  to 
develop  a  judgment  as  to  what  is  the  truth. 

(b)  The  teacher  is  the  group  leader.  The  teacher  does  not 
lecture;  he  guides  the  discussion.  He  expresses  no  dogmatic 
opinions;  he  helps  the  others  to  formulate  a  common  judgment. 
He  has  no  final  solution  of  his  own  which  he  considers  it  his  duty 
to  impose  upon  others;  he  is  the  agent  through  whose  aid  the 
others  arrive  at  a  common  goal. 

(c)  This  method  stays  close  to  life.  Conduct  in  accord  with 
the  principles  of  Jesus  is  the  goal  of  Christian  teaching.  If  a 
teacher  lectures  upon  a  Bible  topic,  there  is  a  tendency  for  him 
to  be  dominated  by  the  informational  aim;  and,  again,  for  him 
to  become  academic.  This  is  one  reason  why  so  many  teachers 
are  dubbed  "dry*'  and  "uninteresting."  If  the  discussion  method 
is  used,  the  topic  stated  in  terms  of  a  live  problem,  and  the  dis- 
cussion participated  in  by  all,  the  danger  of  getting  away  from 
everyday  life  is  reduced  to  the  minimum. 

The  "How"  of  the  Method. — A  few  suggestions  concerning 
technique  are  desirable. 

(a)  Selecting  a  topic  or  problem.  In  place  of  an  assignment 
by  the  teacher  the  class  should  agree  in  advance  upon  a  topic  or 
problem  for  discussion.  The  form  in  which  the  problem  is  to 
be  stated  should  itself  be  made  a  matter  of  discussion  by  the 
group.  Let  us  cite  a  particular  case.  The  lesson  outline  that  is 
being  followed  by  an  adult  class  suggests  the  following  Scripture 
passages,  2  Sam.  6.  1,  2,  17,  18;  Matt.  6.  33,  under  the  topic  "Mak- 
ing Religion  Central."  The  teacher  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  purpose  of  David  in  moving  the  ark  was  to  centralize  worship 
in  Jerusalem.  "What  present  problem,"  he  asks,  "does  this 
suggest  to  us?"  Various  answers  are  given.  One  member  sug- 
gests this:  "How  can  we  as  a  class  help  to  make  religion  more 
nearly  central  in  the  thought  and  life  of  our  community?"  This 
statement  is  accepted  by  all.  When  agreement  has  been  reached, 
the  teacher  should  make  suggestions  for  reading  and  study. 

(6)  The  solution  of  the  problem. — At  the  beginning  of  the 
class  session  the  problem  should  be  stated  in  the  form  previously 
agreed  upon.  The  teacher  may  then  ask  some  member  to  state 
his  opinion  upon  some  phase  of  the  problem.  Thus  the  discus- 
sion in  which  it  is  understood  all  are  to  participate  is  started. 


QUESTIONING    AND    THE    DISCUSSION    METHOD       41 

For  example,  let  us  say  that  a  boys'  class  has  agreed  to  discuss 
the  question  "How  may  personal  prejudice  be  best  overcome?" 
The  teacher  asks  some  member  to  state  the  question.  "When  it 
has  been  stated,  he  continues,  "What  in  your  opinion  is  the  prin- 
cipal root  of  prejudice?"  This  question  is  likely  to  call  out  an 
opinion  with  which  all  will  not  agree.  If  another  calls  it  into 
question  or  states  a  different  opinion,  the  discussion  is  well 
started.  From  this  point  on  it  is  simply  the  leader's  task  to 
guide  the  discussion.  "He  sees  to  it  that  the  group  becomes 
clearly  conscious  of  what  it  is  they  are  discussing;  he  notes 
carefully  all  the  main  views  of  the  members  contributed  toward 
the  solution,  preferably  upon  a  blackboard;  he  calls  for  a  sum- 
mary of  these  views  as  a  solution  or,  failing  to  get  it  satis- 
factorily, he  summarizes  the  discussion  himself;  and,  finally,  he 
secures  the  group  reaction  or  application."^ 

Advantages  of  tlie  Method. — Certain  elements  of  strength 
of  the  discussion  method  have  already  been  indicated.  It  is 
necessary  only  to  restate  them  briefly. 

(a)  The  discussion  method  insures  activity  on  the  part  of 
toth  teacher  and  pupil.  There  is  continual  movement.  The 
constant  interchange  of  opinion  or  the  exchange  of  question  and 
answer  holds  the  attention;  creative  expression  on  the  part  of 
the  pupils  is  involved. 

(6)  The  judgment  finally  expressed  is  the  pupiVs  own.  The 
teacher  will  not  stop  short  of  getting  a  statement  showing  that 
the  members  of  the  class  have  a  grasp  of  the  truth  and  are  able 
to  formulate  it  intelligently.  Thus  the  truth  is  a  personal  pos- 
session of  each  member  of  the  group;  it  has  become  his  through 
his  own  creative  self-activity;  and  conditions  are  most  favorable 
for  his  retaining  it. 

(c)  It  is  the  most  democratic  of  all  methods  of  teaching.  The 
teacher  is  not  an  autocrat,  who  declares  the  truth  in  the  form 
of  edicts;  he  is  the  leader  of  a  group  of  equals.  Each  member 
feels  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility  for  arriving  at  the  true 
solution  of  the  problem  in  hand.  The  teaching  method  con- 
tributes directly  toward  making  the  class  a  school  for  social 
living. 

It  is  not  to  be  thought  that  the  discussion  method  makes  slight 
demands  upon  the  teacher.  It  requires  a  broad  general  knowl- 
edge, initiative  and  discrimination,  the  ability  to  think  quickly 


1  "The  Discussion  Method  in  Bible  Teaching,"  by  Herman  Harrell  Home  in  The 
Sunday  School  Journal,  May,  1920,  page  272. 


42  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

and  accurately,  and  self-mastery.  A  teacher  needs  these  qualifi- 
cations in  order  to  make  the  most  of  this  method.  A  study  of 
the  hints  of  Jesus'  teaching  methods  contained  in  the  Gospels 
will  show  that  he  used  this  method  and  that  he  was  exceedingly 
skillful  in  the  use  of  it. 

Disadvantages  of  the  Method. — What  are  the  weaknesses  or 
disadvantages  of  this  method? 

(a)  In  itself  the  discussion  method  lays  no  requirement  of 
study  upon  the  pupils;  hence,  lesson  preparation  is  likely  to  be 
sUglited.  The  officers  and  teachers  of  a  great  many  Sunday 
schools  have  been  exceedingly  lax  in  this  matter.  Low  ideals 
have  prevailed,  and  as  a  consequence  there  is  a  general  tendency 
to  neglect  lesson  study.  No  Sunday  school  can  do  thoroughly 
creditable  work  without  home  study  on  the  part  of  the  pupils, 
and  any  method  that  tends  to  encourage  the  idea  that  it  is  un- 
necessary deserves  to  be  called  into  question.  This  tendency 
is  not  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  the  discussion  method:  the 
teacher  can  guard  against  it;  but  the  point  is  that  the  method  in 
itself  makes  no  requirement  of  previous  preparation. 

(&)  Unless  care  and  skill  are  used,  the  discussion  is  likely  to 
wander,  to  follow  tangents  far  afield,  and  even  to  degenerate  into 
superficial,  pointless,  and  profitless  talk.  If  the  pupils  have  a 
ready  fund  of  ideas  and  are  free  in  expressing  them,  the  teacher 
must  constantly  be  on  his  guard  lest  the  discussion  take  a 
direction  that  is  interesting  but  not  in  the  direction  of  the  solu- 
tion of  the  problem. 

Not  infrequently  in  adult  classes  there  are  found  men  or 
women  who  are  fond  of  arguing.  As  one  has  said,  "The  biggest 
fools  do  all  the  talking."  The  fellow  who  has  a  hobby  has  too 
much  chance  to  ride  it.  There  is  danger  of  becoming  sidetracked 
by  controversy  over  unimportant  matters.  Argument  over  non- 
essential points  and  doctrinal  controversy  are  unprofitable;  if 
either  is  prolonged  it  becomes  positively  harmful. 

(c)  There  is  constant  tendency  for  the  teacher  to  dominate 
the  discussion.  Continual  self-restraint  is  required.  The  dis- 
cussion may  lag  at  certain  points,  and  the  temptation  comes  to 
the  leader  to  do  all  the  talking.  Unless  he  is  constantly  on 
guard,  the  discussion  becomes  a  lecture. 

Constructive  Task 
1.  Observe  the  teaching  of  some  good  teacher.    Take  notes  on: 


QUESTIONING   AND    THE    DISCUSSION    METHOD       43 

(o)  kinds   of   questions   asked;     (6)  the   teacher's  methods   of 
questioning. 

2.  Consider  further  this  same  lesson:  Give  examples  of  par- 
ticularly effective  questions.    Why  were  they  effective? 

3.  With  a  particular  class  in  mind  prepare  a  full  list  of  orig- 
inal questions  on  the  next  Sunday's  lesson  of  this  class. 

4.  Observe  the  teaching  of  another  lesson,  if  opportunity  is 
afforded,  where  the  discussion  method  is  used.  Write  your  im- 
pressions of  the  method  as  observed  in  this  particular  case. 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 
In  "The  Worker  and  Work'*  series 

1.  The  Teacher's  Use  of  Questions:    The  Senior  Worker  and 
Work,  Chapter  VIII. 

In  the  library 

1.  A  general  discussion  of  questioning:   The  Art  of  Question- 
ing, Fitch. 

2.  The  technique  of  questioning:  Methods  of  Teaching  in  High 
Schools,  Parker,  Chapter  XX. 

3.  Teaching  by   questioning    (the   Socratic  method) :    Primer 
on  Teaching,  Adams,  Chapter  VII. 


CHAPTER  V 

TYPES    OF    INSTRUCTION:    THE    RECITATION,    REVIEWS, 
AND  EXAMINATIONS 

DwiGHT  L.  Moody  at  eighteen  was  a  member  of  a  Sunday- 
school  class  in  Boston  taught  by  Edward  Kimball.  His  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible  and  of  Christian  teachings  was  extremely 
limited,  and  his  ability  to  express  himself  still  more  so.  Con- 
cerning him  Mr.  Kimball  later  wrote:  "I  can  truly  say  that  I 
have  seen  few  persons  whose  minds  were  spiritually  darker 
when  they  came  into  my  Sunday-school  class,  or  one  who  seemed 
more  unlikely  ever  to  become  a  Christian  of  clear  decided  views 
of  gospel  truth,  still  less  to  fill  any  sphere  of  extended  public 
usefulness."  Mr.  Kimball  showed  his  wisdom  as  a  teacher  in 
investing  much  time  and  thought  in  devising  ways  of  stimulating 
his  backward  pupil  to  think  on  religious  subjects  and  to  study 
his  lesson,  and  in  kindly  and  patiently  leading  him  to  give  ex- 
pression to  his  thoughts  and  to  the  results  of  his  study.  Un- 
doubtedly not  a  little  of  the  remarkable  skill  shown  by  Moody 
in  later  years  in  leading  men  and  women  into  a  living  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ  was  due  to  the  persistent  tactful  effort  of  a  Sunday- 
school  teacher  to  encourage  expression  on  the  part  of  an  un- 
promising pupil. 

The  Recitation 

We  have  considered  that  form  of  instruction  in  which  telling 
by  the  teacher  predominates.  We  have  also  considered  the  dis- 
cussion method,  in  which  the  teacher's  effort  is  directed  in  con- 
siderable part  to  getting  expression  from  the  pupil.  Another 
method,  more  sharply  in  contrast  with  telling,  in  which  the  pre- 
sentation by  the  pupils  of  the  results  of  their  study,  investiga- 
tion, and  thought  is  the  predominating  factor,  is  that  commonly 
known  as  the  recitation. 

We  may  define  the  recitation  as  that  form  of  teaching  exercise 
in  which  the  teacher  tests  the  knowledge  of  the  pupils  upon  the 
T)asis  of  a  previously  assigned  lesson.  In  intermediate  and  senior 
grades  the  recitation  is  more  generally  used  than  any  other  form 
of  instruction.  At  its  best  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  forms 
of  teaching  exercise;  at  its  worst  it  becomes  a  dull,  uninterest- 

44 


THE    RECITATION,    REVIEWS,    EXAMINATIONS         45 

ing,  wooden  process,  almost  without  either  religious  or  educa- 
tional value. 

Requirements  of  the  Method. — There  are  three  require- 
ments involved  in  the  successful  use  of  this  method:  (a)  assign- 
ment of  the  lesson;  (b)  study  of  the  lesson  hy  the  pupils;  (c) 
presentation  by  the  pupils,  under  the  teacher's  guidance,  of  the 
results  of  their  study. 

(a)  Assignment  of  the  lesson. — Success  in  this  type  of  teach- 
ing depends  very  largely  on  the  definiteness  with  which  the  prol)- 
lenis  the  pupils  are  expected  to  solve  are  placed  defore  them^ 
or  on  the  clearness  with  which  the  aim  of  the  work  they  are 
expected  to  do  is  stated.  Failure  in  Sunday-school  teaching 
often  roots  right  here.  Teachers  frequently  are  content  to  make 
a  perfunctory  general  statement  such  as  "Now,  be  sure  to  study 
next  Sunday's  lesson,"  or  "See  who  can  have  the  best  lesson  next 
week";  and  the  pupils  are  left  entirely  in  the  dark  as  to  what 
is  expected  of  them.  Teachers  mistakenly  assume  that  pupils 
have  the  same  insight  into  the  significance  of  the  lesson,  the 
same  understanding  of  the  importance  of  study,  and  the  same 
knowledge  of  how  to  proceed  in  mastering  a  lesson,  as  they  them- 
selves possess.  When  the  pupils  return  on  the  following  Sunday 
uninterested  and  with  lessons  unprepared  they  are  roundly  con- 
demned, whereas  the  teacher  is  at  least  as  much  at  fault  as  the 
pupils. 

It  is  unfortunate  for  any  teacher  to  permit  the  extent  of  help 
provided  on  the  lesson  to  become  a  temptation  to  neglect  original 
thought  and  effort  in  the  preparation  and  assignment  of  the 
lesson.  No  amount  of  ready-made  helps  can  excuse  negligence 
or  superficial  study  on  the  teacher's  part.  No  matter  how  much 
is  provided  for  the  pupils'  use,  a  great  deal  will  depend  on  the 
teacher's  initiative  and  originality  in  awakening  interest,  stimu- 
lating investigation  of  special  topics,  stating  the  lesson  in  terms 
of  problems  that  appeal  to  the  interests  of  his  particular  class, 
and  suggesting  additional  sources  of  special  information  upon 
lesson  topics. 

It  is  of  course  necessary  for  the  teacher  to  study  the  lesson 
a  week  in  advance.  Failure  actually  to  know  the  lesson  makes 
proper  assignment  impossible.  As  the  lesson  is  studied,  the  in- 
terests of  various  members  of  the  class  should  be  kept  in  mind, 
and  points  of  contact  decided  upon. 

Teachers  who  do  not  have  an  appreciation  of  the  importance  of 


^See  page  80,  The  Use  of  Problems  in  Getting  Voluntary  Attention. 


46  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

lesson  assignment  are  likely  to  plead  lack  of  time  as  an  excuse 
for  failure  properly  to  assign  the  lesson.  Lack  of  time  is  not  an 
excuse.  The  brevity  of  the  recitation  period  in  Sunday-school 
work  is  all  the  more  reason  for  attention  to  what  is  absolutely 
essential.  If  by  any  mischance  there  are  only  twenty  minutes 
or  even  only  fifteen  minutes  for  the  recitation,  a  fair  proportion 
— a  fourth  or  a  third — should  be  conscientiously  reserved  for 
assignment  of  the  next  lesson. 

When  should  the  assignment  be  made — at  the  beginning  or  at 
the  close  of  the  recitation  period?  No  rule  can  be  laid  down. 
When  there  is  continuity  between  the  lessons,  assignment  at  the 
close  permits  calling  attention  to  the  connection. 

(6)  Study  of  the  lesson. — The  second  requirement  of  the  reci- 
tation method  is  study  of  the  lesson  by  the  pupils.  *'How  can 
I  get  my  pupils  to  study  their  lessons?"  is  the  ever-present,  in- 
sistent query  of  Sunday-school  teachers.  It  is  only  just  to  say 
that  conditions  affecting  Sunday-school  work  at  the  present  time 
are  such  that  this  is  a  really  difficult  problem,  and  that  the 
teacher  who  succeeds  in  getting  systematic,  diligent  lesson 
preparation  thereby  demonstrates  superior  ability  as  a  teacher, 

A  relation  must  be  established  between  the  pupil's  interest 
and  the  lesson.  Without  this  there  will  be  no  lesson  study. 
This  is  to  be  done  by  finding  points  of  contact  as  a  part  of  the 
task  of  assigning  the  lesson.  A  lesson  well  assigned  is  a  lesson 
almost  certain  to  be  studied. 

The  problem  of  getting  lesson  study  is  very  largely  one  of  the 
proper  motivation  of  instruction.  The  teacher  needs  to  know  to 
what  desires  and  motives  to  appeal.*  In  the  case  of  the  more 
earnest,  conscientious  pupils  an  appeal  may  be  made  to  the  sense 
of  duty.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  the  pupil  to  give  as  much  time  to 
the  study  of  the  journeys  of  Paul  as  to  Caesar's  campaigns? 
The  use  of  penalties,  so  frequently  resorted  to  by  public-school 
teachers,  has  little  or  no  place  in  the  Sunday  school.  The  effect 
is  almost  certain  to  be  that  of  causing  the  pupil  to  leave  the 
school.  The  use  of  prizes  and  rewards  is  questionable;  unless 
very  carefully  guarded  the  practice  is  likely  to  do  more  harm 
than  good.  A  system  of  awards,  giving  recognition  to  all  who 
complete  certain  assigned  tasks  or  do  work  of  a  certain  standard, 
is  open  only  to  slight  objection  and  may  be  made  very  stimu- 
lating, especially  to  junior  pupils.  In  graded  schools  promotion 
should  be  on  the  basis  of  faithfulness  in  lesson  preparation  and 
completion  of  assigned  tasks. 


•See  Chapter  IX. 


THE    RECITATION,    REVIEWS,    EXAMINATIONS        47 

Appeal  may  he  made  to  the  interest  in  motor  activity.  It  will 
be  found  helpful  to  have  each  pupil  procure  a  permanent  note- 
book for  written  work.  When  questions  are  assigned,  request 
that  the  answer  be  placed  in  the  notebooks.  Ask  for  the  writing 
of  a  brief  statement  on  interesting  topics.  Request  the  pupils 
to  search  for  illustrations  of  lesson  truths  from  everyday  life  and 
from  current  events  in  politics  and  international  relations. 
From  many  sources — conversation,  books,  magazines,  periodicals, 
newspapers,  or  the  pupil's  own  observation — information  may  be 
obtained  and  recorded.  Various  kinds  of  handwork  may  often  be 
used  successfully  as  an  aid  to  lesson  preparation.^ 

Enlist  the  pupils  in  doing  things  for  you  and  for  the  class. 
There  are  few  boys  or  girls  who  will  not  gladly  do  things  for 
other  people.  If  the  teacher  has  the  confidence  and  love  of  his 
pupils,  they  will  readily  respond  to  a  personal  request  to  look  up 
a  particular  topic  or  prepare  a  written  statement  as  a  means  of 
helping  him.  Where  the  proper  esprit  de  corps  has  been  built  up 
in  the  class,  loyalty  to  the  class  organization  and  service  to  the 
members  of  the  class  may  be  appealed  to  as  the  motive  for  study 
of  special  assignments. 

Connect  the  lesson  with  the  reading  interests  of  the  pupils. 
There  is  unlimited  scope  for  collateral  reading,  especially  in  the 
fields  of  history  and  biography.  The  teacher  who  is  willing  to 
give  time  to  compiling  reading  references  can  often  obtain  a 
large  amount  of  profitable  reading  bearing  at  least  indirectly  and 
sometimes  directly  upon  the  lessons.  Apart  from  its  bearing 
upon  lesson  preparation  this  will  be  a  valuable  service  to  the 
pupils.  Incalculable  harm  is  done  to  the  moral  and  religious 
lives  of  our  pupils  through  undirected  reading. 

Teach  the  pupils  how  to  study  and  practice  them  in  studying. 
Many  pupils  do  not  prepafe  their  lessons  because  they  do  not 
know  how  to  go  about  it.  No  one  has  ever  taken  the  pains  to 
show  them  how.  "Perhaps  the  greatest  single  source  of  waste 
in  our  educational  work,"  says  Home,  "is  the  wrong  use  of  time, 
which  we  spend  too  much  in  hearing  recitations  and  discovering 
what  pupils  have  already  learned  and  too  little  in  training  them 
to  study.'"'  The  teacher  who  will  devote  one  evening  a  week  to 
meeting  with  the  class,  studying  with  them  and  teaching  them 
how  to  study  will  find  in  this  simple  expedient  a  happy  solution 
of  the  problem  of  lesson  preparation.' 


iSee  pages  110-111. 

'Story-Telling,  Questioning,  and  Studying,  page  119. 

'Consult  How  to  Study  and  Teaching  How  to  Study,  McMurry. 


48  PRINCIPLES   OP   RELIGIOUS   TEACHING 

Finally,  endeavor  to  win  tJie  intelligent,  sympathetic  coopera- 
tion of  the  parents.  Be  sure  that  the  parents  know  what  the 
lessons  are  and  exactly  what  is  expected  in  the  way  of  lesson 
preparation.  Show  them  that  their  children  need  religious  in- 
struction and  that  they  cannot  get  it  without  effort.  Tell  them 
that  as  a  religious  teacher,  rendering  an  unpaid  service,  you 
expect  their  cooperation  and  will  be  handicapped  in  your  work 
without  it.  Lead  them  to  see  that  the  Sunday  school  is  entitled 
to  a  fair  share  of  the  child's  time,  and  that  they,  as  parents, 
must  be  depended  on  to  protect  its  interests  as  over  against  the 
demands  of  the  public-school  and  social  engagements. 

(c)  Presentation  l)y  the  pupils. — The  third  requirement  of  the 
recitation  method  is  the  presentation  of  the  results  of  their  study 
by  the  pupils  under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher. 

The  teacher's  preparation  should  include  the  writing  out  of 
original  questions  on  leading  points  of  the  lesson.  These  ques- 
tions may  be  used  in  the  recitation,  but  the  teacher  should  not 
be  content  merely  to  receive  the  pupil's  answer  and  pass  on  to 
another  question.  The  pupil's  statement  should  be  accepted  at 
its  full  value  but  it  should  also  be  explained,  amplified,  and 
developed.  Make  sure  that  the  pupil  understands  its  signifi- 
cance; bring  out  all  its  bearings;  bring  out  a  restatement  in 
original  language;  illustrate  the  point  fully.  Dwell  on  it  until 
you  are  sure  that  it  is  clear,  and  that  its  implications  are 
understood.  Encourage  the  asking  of  questions  by  the  pupils. 
Stimulate  comment.  Draw  out  illustrations  from  the  lives  and 
experience  of  the  pupils.  At  this  point  the  recitation  method  he- 
comes  identical  with  the  discussion  method,  treated  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter. 

Merely  hearing  the  pupils  tell  what  they  have  read  is  to  test 
their  memory  for  facts.  This  is  probably  worth  while  but  it 
does  not  go  far  enough.  If  their  knowledge  is  to  be  tested,  one 
must  ascertain  if  they  understand  what  they  have  read.  But 
the  testing  of  knowledge  is  only  a  part  of  the  teacher's  task  in 
the  recitation.  The  knowledge  newly  possessed  must  be  built 
upon,  the  significance  of  facts  and  principles  as  applied  to  the 
problems  of  teaching  determined,  their  application  to  life  and 
conduct  shown. 

Do  not  hesitate  to  dwell  long  enough  on  a  single  point  to 
Insure  that  your  end  has  been  achieved.  Better  one  or  two 
points  made  absolutely  clear,  a  single  truth  and  its  application 
to  life  established,  than  a  hurried,  superficial  treatment  of  a 
score  of  so-called  "lesson  teachings." 


THE    RECITATION,    REVIEWS,    EXAMINATIONS        49 

On  the  other  hand,  do  not  fail  to  call  for  a  report  on  every- 
thing assigned.  If  a  pupil  who  has  made  diligent  preparation 
is  not  called  upon  he  will  be  disappointed  and  inclined  to  slight 
his  next  assignment. 

Make  sure  that  all  the  pupils  have  some  part  in  the  recita- 
tion. A  common  mistake  and  one  that  involves  serious  injustice 
is  that  of  calling  only  on  the  brightest  members  of  the  class  and 
failing  to  get  any  expression  from  perhaps  one  half  or  two  thirds 
of  the  pupils. 

Dangers  of  the  Method. — Our  discussion  has  hinted  at  some 
of  the  common  weaknesses  of  this  form  of  instruction.  What 
danger  have  you  already  come  to  see  in  it? 

(a)  Formal  questions  and  insufflcient  answers. — As  the  recita- 
tion is  commonly  conducted  in  many  Sunday  schools,  pupils 
make  brief  answers  to  formal  questions  asked  by  the  teacher. 
Sometimes  the  practice  descends  to  the  level  of  reading  printed 
questions  from  a  teacher's  help,  the  pupils  reading  the  answers 
from  their  quarterlies  in  the  exact  words  of  the  lesson.  What- 
ever this  may  te  called  it  is  not  a  recitation.  The  teacher  has 
more  to  do  than  merely  ask  readymade  questions  and  hear 
readymade  answers. 

When  the  recitation  method  is  rightly  used  it  makes  certain 
demands  upon  the  pupil  in  the  way  of  study,  investigation,  and 
thought.  The  teacher's  questions  are  for  the  purpose  of  drawing 
forth  from  the  pupils  the  results  of  their  previous  work.  Ques- 
tions printed  in  the  teachers'  helps  are  merely  intended  to  be 
suggestive.  They  may  serve  as  a  means  of  aiding  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  original  questions.  The  teacher  will  not  wholly  rely 
even  on  original  questions  previously  prepared.  The  pupils' 
statements  will  suggest  the  form  and  content  of  new  questions. 
The  pupils'  helps  are  intended  for  home  study.  Notebooks, 
written  reports,  and  Bibles  for  reference  use  may  be  in  the 
pupils'  hands;  but  the  teacher  should  warn  pupils  against  the 
temptation  to  glance  at  the  lesson  or  a  writer's  comment  merely 
to  find  a  ready  answer  to  a  question. 

It  is  necessary  for  the  teacher  to  guard  against  accepting 
vague  and  indefinite  answers.  Unless  an  answer  shows  that  the 
pupil  has  a  clear  and  definite  idea,  another  question  is  in  order. 

(6)  The  rehearsal  of  familiar  facts. — There  is  a  tendency  in 
using  the  recitation  method  to  be  content  with  the  commonplace 
and  the  familiar.  It  is  not  enough  to  rehearse  facts  that  have 
long  been  the  common  possession  of  both  teacher  and  pupils. 


50  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

New  knowledge  is  to  be  added  to  that  already  possessed.  It  is 
essential  that  the  pupils'  reports  and  answers  to  questions  shall 
be  discussed  in  such  a  way  that  new  knowledge  shall  be  added  to 
old,  misconceptions  corrected,  and  the  implications  of  the  truth 
for  conduct  realized. 

Enriching  the  Method. — The  teacher  should  not  be  content 
with  the  kind  of  recitation  with  which  his  own  experience  as  a 
Sunday-school  pupil  has  made  him  familiar.  The  Sunday  school 
is  a  growing  institution.  The  methods  of  yesterday  are  out- 
grown. Every  teacher's  aim  should  be  to  improve  upon  the  past. 
Knowledge  of  the  Bible  has  increased  rapidly  in  recent  years. 
There  are  resources  and  aids  available  to-day  which  the  Bible 
students  of  a  few  years  ago  knew  nothing  about. 

(a)  Special  sources. — The  sources  from  which  information  and 
knowledge  can  be  gleaned  are  almost  without  number.  It  is  a 
part  of  the  teacher's  responsibility  constantly  to  direct  the  pupils 
not  only  to  the  Bible  and  to  the  lesson  helps  nearest  at  hand  but 
to  other  sources,  such  as  commentaries,  Bible  dictionaries, 
encyclopedias,  religious  journals,  magazines  and  pamphlets, 
leaflets  and  tracts  published  and  circulated  at  low  cost  by  various 
religious  organizations.  The  teacher's  enterprise  and  ingenuity 
will  be  tested  in  suggesting  the  sources  most  readily  accessible 
to  his  own  class. 

The  teacher  even  more  than  the  pupil  should  be  expected  to 
bring  supplementary  material  to  the  recitation.  Books,  maga- 
zines, and  church  papers,  as  well  as  the  regular  lesson  helps 
should  yield  material  that,  because  of  present,  vital  interest,  will 
help  to  enrich  the  lesson  teaching. 

(b)  Topical  recitation. — In  senior  and  young  people's  classes 
special  topics  may  be  assigned  for  thorough  investigation  and 
report  somewhat  after  the  method  used  to  a  considerable  extent 
in  advanced  college  courses  and  in  graduate  seminars.  This  is 
an  excellent  method  of  instruction;  but  as  things  are  at  present, 
it  is  evident  that  it  cannot  be  extensively  used  in  Sunday-schools. 
In  exceptional  classes,  with  a  thoroughly  trained  teacher  and 
young  people  of  unusually  earnest  purpose  in  study,  it  may  well 
be  tried.    There  are  in  it  fine  possibilities. 

Reviews 

In  nearly  every  Sunday  school  some  attention  is  given  to 
review,  and  almost  everywhere  it  is  held  in  general  disesteem. 
As  a  usual  thing  pupils  of  all  grades  consider  the  review  lesson 


THE    RECITATION,    REVIEWS,    EXAMINATIONS        51 

dull  and  uninteresting,  and  teachers  likewise  are  indifferent  to 
it.  This  is  the  result  of  the  prevalence  of  superficial  conceptions 
of  what  constitutes  a  review  and  of  the  use  of  wrong  methods  of 
reviewing. 

The  Purpose  and  Method  of  Review. — A  review  is  more 
than  mere  repetition;  it  is  a  re-view.  It  is  a  means  of  gaining  a 
new  view  of  that  which  is  familiar.  It  is  a  process  of  recalling 
ideas  to  the  mind  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  new  meanings 
and  new  relationships. 

The  review  relates  itself  to  generalization,  the  fourth  step  of 
the  formal  plan.^  It  is  the  organization  of  a  series  of  ideas,  of 
principles,  of  truths,  into  a  whole;  the  consideration  of  the  teach- 
ing of  the  whole  in  the  light  gained  from  a  study  of  all  its  parts. 
In  the  review  at  the  end  of  a  quarter  or  at  the  end  of  a  course 
the  various  lessons  that  have  been  studied  may  be  seen  to  com- 
plement one  another  or  to  fit  together  in  such  a  way  as  to  take 
on  new  significance  and  to  teach  some  new  and  larger  truth. 

These  important  purposes  of  the  review  cannot  of  course  be 
accomplished  by  the  mere  reading  in  concert  of  the  various 
lesson  titles,  "Golden  Texts,"  and  "central  truths."  Such  a  per- 
formance is  hardly  more  than  a  parody  upon  a  real  review. 

In  the  past  the  custom  of  the  superintendent's  reviewing  the 
lesson  for  the  entire  school  has  widely  prevailed.  This  custom 
was  an  outgrowth  of  teaching  exactly  the  same  lesson  to  classes 
of  all  ages  in  precisely  the  same  way.  It  is  a  relic  of  bygone 
times.  It  has  entirely  outfived  any  usefulness  that  it  may  have 
had  and  should  be  done  away  with.  The  review  quite  as  much 
as  the  teaching  of  the  lesson  is  the  teacher's  work;  whether  it 
is  the  review  of  a  single  lesson  or  of  a  series  of  lessons  it  should 
be  left  wholly  to  the  teacher. 

The  Drill  Lesson. — While  it  is  a  mistake  to  think  of  the 
review  as  a  process  of  drill,  it  should  be  recognized  that  there 
is  a  need  for  the  drill  lesson  in  Sunday-school  instruction.  The 
drill  lesson,  however,  should  be  called  by  its  right  name  and  not 
confused  with  the  review. 

(a)  The  purpose  of  drill. — By  the  drill  lesson  we  mean  that 
type  of  instruction  by  which  facts  are  fixed  so  firmly  in  mind  that 
they  are  certain  to  be  remembered.  There  is,  for  example,  a  con- 
siderable body  of  fact  information  that  pupils  should  have.  They 
should  know  the  various  parts  of  the  Bible  and  the  names  of  all 
the  books  of  the  Bible  in  their  order;    they  should  know  the 


1  See  page  70. 


52  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

names  of  the  twelve  apostles;  they  should  be  familiar  with  the 
principal  events  in  the  life  and  ministry  of  Jesus  and  in  the  mis- 
sionary career  of  the  apostle  Paul.  There  is  only  one  way  in 
which  such  simple  facts  can  be  fixed  permanently  in  mind,  and 
that  is  by  the  process  of  drill. 

A  large  part  of  the  memorization  of  important  facts  in  religious 
instruction  should  be  accomplished  during  the  junior  years.  In 
the  International  Graded  Lessons,  Junior  Series,  the  teaching  of 
important  fact  information  is  fully  provided  for.  Teachers 
should  not  fail  to  give  due  attention  to  the  correlated  lesson. 

(6)  Methods  of  drill. — Perhaps  the  best  brief  presentation  of 
methods  of  drill  is  given  by  Strayer,^  We  summarize  his  prin- 
cipal points:  (1)  A  motive  must  fee  pi'ovided.  Much  drill  is 
ineffective  because  it  is  imposed  upon  children;  they  do  not  see 
its  significance  and  feel  little  interest  in  the  accomplishment  of 
the  results  demanded.  (2)  The  pupil  must  know  just  what  is  to 
he  done.  Before  the  drill  begins,  every  pupil  should  have  a  clear 
idea  of  what  is  to  be  done.  The  teacher  often  takes  for  granted 
that  the  child  knows  what  he  is  to  do  when  he  does  not  under- 
stand. (3)  The  next  essential  is  repetition  with  attention. 
Concert  repetition  is  frequently  characterized  by  lack  of  atten- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  larger  proportion  of  the  class.  The 
teacher  should  frequently  have  those  who  are  leading  in  the 
repetition  stop  and  then  measure  the  success  of  the  work  by 
what  the  remaining  pupils  are  able  to  do.  (4)  Variation  in 
procedure  is  one  of  the  lest  ways  of  achieving  the  maximum  of 
attention.  For  example,  divide  the  period  of  drill  into  three 
parts:  one  devoted  to  oral  work,  one  to  written  work  on  sheets 
of  paper,  one  to  written  work  at  the  blackboard.  (5)  Gain  atten- 
tion ly  placing  a  time  limit.  Say,  "See  how  much  you  can  get 
done  in  ten  minutes."  (6)  Keep  wide  awake  and  alert.  The 
greatest  single  reason  for  lack  of  attention  and  interest  on  the 
part  of  pupils  is  indifference  and  lack  of  energy  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher.  (7)  Insist  always  on  absolute  accuracy.  Never 
allow  careless  work  in  drill.  The  pupil  who  gives  a  wrong 
answer  is  not  simply  wrong  once;  he  will  tend  to  be  wrong  ever 
after.  Get  rid  of  the  tendency  to  give  the  wrong  answer  and 
teach  the  correct  one.  (8)  Gradually  lengthen  the  periods  be- 
tween repetitions.  When  we  have  first  obtained  the  result 
desired  we  have  only  begun.  What  is  apparently  completely 
mastered  to-day  will  seem  to  have  completely  disappeared  next 
month.      Go    over    the    work    several    times    next    month,    next 

1  Cf .  A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process,  Chapter  IV. 


THE    RECITATION,    REVIEWS,    EXAMINATIONS        53 

quarter,  next  year.  There  will  come  a  time  when  it  will  be 
found  to  have  been  fixed  permanently  in  mind.  (9)  Spend  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  upon  that  part  of  the  work  which 
presents  special  difficulty.  Discover  special  difficulties  as  soon 
as  possible  and  drill  with  particular  reference  to  them. 

Examinations 

Are  examinations  needed  in  Sunday-school  practice?  On  first 
thought  the  Sunday-school  teacher  probably  will  answer,  "No," 
with  emphasis.  This  is  because  the  real  purpose  of  the  examina- 
tion is  so  little  understood. 

The  Purpose  of  Examination. — The  true  purpose  of  examina- 
tion is  similar  to  that  of  the  review:  it  is  an  important  means  of 
organization  of  knowledge.  "The  virtue  of  examination,"  says 
Bagley,  "lies  in  its  power  to  force  strenuous  mental  effort  to  the 
task  of  organizing  a  large  body  of  facts  and  principles  into  a 
coherent  system."^ 

Methods  of  Examination. — While  we  may  have  no  means  of 
requiring  our  Sunday-school  pupils  to  take  examinations,  they 
may  be  led  to  appreciate  their  value  and  to  look  upon  them  not 
as  unreasonable  but  as  a  means  of  learning.  Some  form  of 
recognition,  such  as  the  award  of  a  certificate  or  other  honor  to 
those  who  pass  creditably,  will  stimulate  interest. 

The  following  suggestions  as  to  method  are  of  value:  *'The 
examination  should  not  cover  a  long  period — ^probably  not  to 
exceed  three  months — though  when  the  system  is  thoroughly 
under  way,  an  annual  examination  might  be  given  for  those 
who  are  willing  to  take  it.  .  .  .  The  examination  should  not  be 
a  mere  test  of  memory.  Its  educational  purpose  should  be  dis- 
tinctly kept  in  mind.  If  the  questions  are  rightly  framed,  so  as 
to  constitute  a  real  review  of  the  quarter's  work,  they  may  very 
properly  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  pupils  on  one  Sunday,  to 
be  returned  with  answers  a  week  later,  the  pupils  being  in- 
structed to  make  use  of  the  Bible  and  any  other  accessible  sources 
of  information,  personal  help  only  being  excluded.""  Some 
teachers  will  prefer  to  give  out  a  list  of  questions,  as  suggested, 
a  week  in  advance,  and  have  the  pupils  write  on  some  four  or 
five  of  them  during  the  class  session.  Careful  attention  should 
be  given  to  the  form  of  questions.    The  examination  should  not 


»  The  Educative  Process,  page  334. 

'Principles  and  Ideals  for  the  Sunday  School,  Burton  and  Mathews,  page  159. 


54  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

be  confined  to  mere  fact  or  informational  questions.  If  the 
examination  is  to  serve  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  pupil  to  or- 
ganize the  knowledge  gained,  some  of  the  questions  must  be  of  a 
kind  that  will  require  thought  to  answer,  that  will  call  upon  the 
pupil  to  restate  in  his  own  words  what  he  has  learned. 

Constructive  Task 

1.  Observe  the  teaching  of  a  particular  lesson  by  some  good 
teacher  who  uses  the  recitation  method.  Write  a  brief  account 
of  exactly  what  is  done. 

2.  Consider  further  this  same  lesson  period:  What  were  the 
strong  points  of  the  recitation?    What  were  its  deficiencies? 

3.  Describe  the  best  review  you  have  ever  participated  in 
either  as  teacher  or  pupil. 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 

In  the  library 

1.  The  recitation  lesson:  A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching 
Process,  Strayer,  Chapter  X,  or  Types  of  Teaching,  Earhart, 
Chapter  IX. 

2.  How  to  induce  a  pupil  to  study:  Principles  and  Ideals  for 
the  Sunday  School,  Burton  and  Mathews,  Chapter  VII. 

3.  The  meaning  and  use  of  review:  Types  of  Teaching,  Ear- 
hart,  Chapter  XIII. 


CHAPTER  VI 
ILLUSTRATIONS 

One  of  the  most  effective  ways  of  making  truth  clear  and 
plain  and  thus  causing  it  to  live  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
pupil  is  by  means  of  illustration.  The  root  meaning  of  the  word 
tells  us  that  "to  illustrate"  means  to  throw  light  upon  a  thing. 
That  is,  when  we  illustrate  we  throw  light  upon  something  to 
make  it  clear.  In  the  presentation  of  new,  unfamiliar,  or  obscure 
ideas  to  our  pupils  we  may  make  them  clear  by  associating  them 
with  that  which  is  well  known.  The  familiar  thing  throws  light 
upon  that  which  is  unfamiliar.  In  this  way  illustration  becomes 
first  aid  to  understanding. 

Races  in  their  infancy  made  use  of  crude  drawings  of  animals 
and  objects  as  a  means  of  expression  and  communication.  So 
also  with  children.  This  early  tendency  never  entirely  dis- 
appears. Everyone  has  interest  in  natural  objects,  in  living 
things,  in  people,  and  in  action.  These  form  the  subject  matter 
of  illustration  and  cause  it  to  be  an  effective  instrument  of 
instruction. 

With  children  and  with  many  adults  the  power  of  observation 
is  stronger  and  more  active  than  reasoning.  They  see  and  feel 
more  than  they  think.  Illustrations  that  appeal  to  the  senses 
and  to  the  emotions  are  the  most  effective  means  of  interesting 
them.  Robert  South  said  that  illustrations  are  a  means  of  teach- 
ing truth  "by  sliding  it  into  the  understanding  through  the 
windows  of  sense." 

The  truths  of  religion  are  often  expressed  in  abstract  form. 
In  this  form  they  have  little  meaning  to  children  and  to  adults 
of  immature  minds.  To  become  meaningful  they  must  be  inter- 
preted in  terms  of  the  concrete  and  the  familiar  or  associated 
with  some  previous  experience.  We  may  readily  do  both  by 
means  of  illustration. 

Of  the  uses  of  illustrations  the  following  are  among  the  most 
important:  (a)  They  kindle  the  emotions.  The  emotions  feed 
on  the  concrete.  Feeling  may  instantly  be  aroused  by  translating 
truth  into  personal  terms.  (&)  They  quicken  the  imagination. 
The  service  of  imagination  must  often  be  invoked  as  an  aid  to 

55 


56  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

teaching.  Illustration  is  one  of  the  best  means  of  appealing  to 
it.  (c)  They  aid  reasoning.  Often  an  argument  will  be  intel- 
ligently followed  only  if  each  step  is  made  clear  by  an  apt  illus- 
tration. Rufus  Choate,  the  eminent  lawyer,  said  he  once  spent 
two  hours  on  a  point  that  seemed  perfectly  clear  within  the 
first  five  minutes  to  almost  every  one  in  the  courtroom,  but  it 
was  only  when  it  finally  occurred  to  him  to  talk  about  leather 
was  he  sure  that  one  pig-headed  juror  caught  his  point.  That 
one  man  was  needed  to  win  his  case,  and  it  took  an  illustration 
to  get  him.  {d)  They  offer  variety  in  'presentation.  Change 
and  variety  are  required,  else  the  attention  wanders,  (e)  They 
aid  memory.  Incidents,  examples,  anecdotes,  and  striking  figures 
are  readily  retained  and  serve  as  a  means  of  recalling  the  truth 
illustrated  by  them.  They  are  the  pegs  upon  which  the  memory 
hangs  the  truth  of  the  lesson. 

Kinds  of  Illustration 

Speaking  broadly,  we  may  say  that  all  illustrations  are  either 
verbal  or  material.  Although  they  seem  very  different,  their 
service  is  practically  the  same.  Both  kinds  serve  to  interpret 
a  new  or  unfamiliar  idea  by  associating  it  with  a  familiar  idea 
or  image. 

Verbal  Illustrations. — Included  under  verbal  illustrations 
are  stories — more  particularly  brief  stories  or  anecdotes  and 
figures  of  speech.  Of  the  latter  the  most  important  are  the 
simile  and  the  metaphor.  The  greatest  teachers  have  made  much 
use  of  these  various  forms  of  verbal  illustration.  Consider  how 
often  Jesus  spoke  in  parable.  Or  consider  how  many  times  in 
his  teaching  he  referred  to  himself  in  figures.  He  said:  "I  am 
the  vine,"  "I  am  the  good  shepherd,"  "I  am  the  way,"  "I  am 
the  door."  He  spoke  of  himself  as  "the  bread  of  life,"  as  "the 
Son  of  man,"  as  "the  stone  which  the  builders  rejected." 

Let  us  consider  briefly  each  of  these  principal  forms  of  verbal 
illustration. 

(a)  Anecdote. — An  incident  in  brief  story  form  is  often  an 
effective  aid  in  teaching.  Its  most  common  use  is  to  throw 
light  upon  some  particular  aspect  of  a  lesson  truth.  Care  and 
discrimination  are  required  in  the  selection  of  illustrative  inci- 
dents. They  should  be  brief,  pointed,  and  true  to  life.  An 
incident  should  never  be  chosen  simply  because  it  is  an  interest- 
ing story.  An  ill-chosen  anecdote  may  rather  distract  than  illus- 
trate;   not   uncommonly   an   incident   starts   the   minds   of   the 


ILLUSTRATIONS  57 

pupils  off  in  directions  foreign  to  the  lesson  instead  of  illuminat- 
ing the  truth  supposed  to  be  taught.  Much  depends  also  on  the 
manner  of  telling  the  incident  and  upon  the  right  emphasis 
being  given.  The  most  effective  of  stories  may  be  so  told  as  to 
convey  an  effect  opposite  to  that  they  are  intended  to  teach. 
Davidson  tells  of  an  eleven-year-old  boy  brought  before  a 
juvenile  court  on  the  charge  of  running  away.  When  questioned 
he  said  he  got  the  idea  of  leaving  home,  spending  his  money, 
and  sleeping  in  a  pig  sty  from  the  story  of  the  Prodigal  Son 
which  he  had  heard  in  Sunday  school. 

(6)  Simile. — The  simile,  consisting  of  an  expressed  compari- 
son, is  the  simplest  of  all  figures  of  speech.  Whenever  a  teacher 
uses  "like"  or  "as"  he  employs  a  simile.  The  teacher  should 
bear  in  mind,  however,  that  mere  comparison  is  not  enough. 
That  which  is  illustrated  must  be  compared  to  something  more 
simple,  more  familiar,  or  better  understood  than  itself.  If  the 
comparison  is  apt  and  familiar  it  is  almost  invariably  effective. 
Among  many  similes  of  the  Bible  the  following  may  be  given  as 
examples:  "The  path  of  the  just  is  as  a  shining  light";  "The 
ungodly  are  not  so;  but  are  like  the  chaff  which  the  wind 
driveth  away";  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the 
Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him." 

(c)  Metaphor. — The  metaphor,  like  the  simile,  is  a  form  of 
comparison  but  is  different  in  kind.  The  resemblance  of  the 
things  compared  is  indicated  by  applying  the  name,  attribute,  or 
act  of  one  directly  to  the  other.  It  has  been  thus  defined:  "A 
metaphor  is  an  act  of  the  imagination  figuring  one  thing  to  be 
another."  It  leaves  more  to  the  pupil's  imagination  than  the 
simile  and  acts  more  directly  as  a  mental  stimulant.  It  is  also 
stronger  and  more  forcible  than  the  simile. 

On  the  teacher's  part  the  metaphor  requires  more  imagination 
and  originality  of  thought  than  the  simile.  Without  question 
it  is  one  of  the  most  effective  forms  of  illustration,  but  it  is  one 
which  must  be  used  with  caution.  Some  familiar  examples  from 
the  Bible  are:  "Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth";  "Ye  are  the  light 
of  the  world";  "Israel  is  an  empty  vine";  "I  am  the  vine,  ye 
are  the  branches." 

With  thought  and  patient  effort  facility  in  apt  comparison  can 
be  acquired  by  the  teacher  and  will  be  found  to  be  thoroughly 
worth  while.  The  ordinary  round  of  daily  life,  the  most  simple 
and  commonplace  experiences,  can  be  made  to  teach  great 
spiritual  truths  by  the  teacher  who  has  cultivated  the  ability  to 
discern  their  hidden  meanings. 


58  PRINCIPLES    OP    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

Material  Illustrations. — These  include  a  wide  variety — any- 
thing, in  fact,  that  will  lend  itself  to  the  picturing  of  an  idea. 
Those  more  commonly  used  are  maps,  photographs,  and  other 
kinds  of  pictures;  diagrams,  models,  coins,  and  blackboard 
sketches  or  outlines.  The  value  of  these  concrete  materials  as 
aids  in  teaching  cannot  be  questioned.  They  have  come  into 
disrepute  with  many  because  some  have  gone  to  extremes  in 
using  them,  making  them  a  hobby;  and  others  have  used  them 
without  discrimination.  It  should  always  be  remembered  that 
in  the  use  of  almost  any  material  illustration  there  is  some  risk 
of  centering  the  attention  of  the  pupil  upon  the  object  itself, 
because  of  the  inherent  interest  it  may  have,  rather  than  upon 
that  which  it  is  intended  to  illustrate. 

(a)  Objects. — There  are  many  objects  that  may  be  brought 
into  use  in  religious  teaching.  For  example,  a  phylactery,  an 
Oriental  garment,  or  a  lamp  such  as  was  used  in  ancient  times 
might  be  so  used  as  to  give  point  and  emphasis  to  a  saying  of 
Jesus.  If  the  pupil  has  actually  seen  the  object  referred  to,  the 
saying  itself  will  more  vividly  and  deeply  impress  him. 

Models  are  a  kind  of  object  frequently  used — such,  for  ex- 
ample, as  a  model  of  the  Temple,  of  an  Oriental  house,  of  a 
native  hut  in  some  mission  land.  If  it  seems  important  to 
convey  an  idea  of  form  and  appearance,  this  can  be  much  more 
easily  and  effectively  done  by  showing  a  model  than  by  a  verbal 
description.  The  use  of  objects  and  models  has,  however,  the 
distinct  limitation  already  pointed  out:  they  may  prove  to  be  so 
interesting  in  themselves,  as  objects,  that  the  attention  and  in- 
terest of  the  pupils  may  be  entirely  absorbed  in  them  rather 
than  in  that  which  they  are  intended  to  illustrate.  Always  it 
will  be  important  to  lead  the  thought  of  the  pupils  beyond  the 
object  to  its  inner  meaning — to  the  truth  which  it  is  intended  to 
illustrate — in  addition  to  showing  the  object,  to  explain  its  moral 
and  religious  significance.  As  Davidson  says,  "The  actual  Mount 
of  Olives  and  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  may  give  us  the  clearest 
idea  of  these  as  places;  but  to  the  tourist  bent  on  sight-seeing 
they  may  convey  less  clear  ideas  of  their  religious  significance 
than  can  be  conveyed  to  a  little  child  through  a  religious  story. 
.  .  .  When,  therefore,  the  teacher  wishes  to  illustrate  the  mean- 
ing of  some  visible  and  tangible  object  that  has  a  bearing  upon 
the  spiritual  life  of  man,  it  may  be  said  with  perfect  truth  that 
the  object  does  not  illustrate  the  most  important  aspect  of  itself. 
Its  spiritual  significance  needs  to  be  explained  in  language.* 


1  Means  and  Methods  in  the  Religious  Education  of  the  Young,  page  84. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  59 

A  caution  needs  to  be  expressed  also  concerning  the  symbolic 
use  of  objects.  With  some  ministers  and  evangelists  this  is  a 
favorite  method  of  teaching.  Contrary  to  general  opinion  it  is 
more  suited  to  use  with  adults  than  with  children,  as  it  is  in 
reality  not  a  concrete  but  instead  a  rather  highly  abstract  form 
of  teaching.  The  child's  thinking  does  not  carry  over  from  the 
symbol  to  that  which  it  is  intended  to  illustrate.  Interest  there 
is,  undoubtedly,  but  it  is  interest  in  the  material  shown  rather 
than  the  idea  symbolized.  Often  the  object  lesson  violates  one 
of  the  most  fundamental  of  all  principles  of  teaching:  the  symbol 
is  almost  if  not  quite  as  unfamiliar  as  that  which  it  is  supposed 
to  illustrate.  It  is  impossible  to  illustrate  the  unknown  by  the 
unknown. 

(6)  Pictures. — Of  all  forms  of  material  illustrations  pictures 
are  most  readily  available  and  most  commonly  used.  Few 
teachers,  however,  fully  appreciate  the  value  and  possibilities  of 
their  use.  The  fact  that  little  children  live  in  a  world  of  fancy, 
in  truth  a  picture  world,  accounts  for  pictures  speaking  in  a 
language  they  understand  more  readily  than  any  other.  A 
picture  such  as  Murillo's  "Christ  Feeding  the  Multitude"  or 
Reynolds'  "The  Infant  Samuel"  speaks  a  message  to  a  child  such 
as  many  sentences  of  spoken  or  printed  words  would  be  in- 
capable of  conveying.  Hofmann's  "Christ  Blessing  the  Chil- 
dren" tells  the  story  of  Matthew  19.  13-15  quite  as  effectively  as 
it  could  be  told  in  words. 

We  may  note  briefly  two  important  services  performed  by 
pictures  in  religious  teaching:  (a)  They  provide  a  'background 
of  fact.  The  manners  and  customs  of  the  Orient  are  so  unlike 
the  life  with  which  the  children  are  familiar  that  pictures  are 
necessary  to  an  understanding  of  the  Bible  stories.  The  service 
performed  by  a  picture  is  similar  to  that  of  a  map.  It  forms  a 
background  on  which  the  mind  can  locate  people  and  their  activi- 
ties and  understand  them.  In  portraying  the  unfamiliar  it  gives 
a  realistic  impression  such  as  words  alone  could  not  give.  There 
are  certain  great  pictures  that  present  Bible  situations  with 
such  wealth  of  detail  and  pictorial  suggestion  that  they  are  in- 
valuable as  illustrations.  As  notable  examples  we  may  name 
Holman  Hunt's  "Finding  of  Our  Saviour  in  the  Temple";  Hof- 
mann's "Christ  and  the  Doctors";  Keller's  "Raising  the  Daughter 
of  Jairus."  Concerning  the  first-named  picture  Henry  Turner 
Bailey  says:  "Not  a  line  or  a  dot  in  the  whole  canvas  has  been 
placed  there  without  Scriptural  reason.  Such  pictures  are  veri- 
table treasure  houses,  to  be  searched  as  the  woman  of  the  parable 


60  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

searched  for  the  lost  penny.  .  .  .  They  are  among  the  most 
valuable  means  of  teaching  at  our  command."  (&)  They  appeal 
to  the  religions  sentiments  and  awaken  spiritual  ideals.  A  great 
picture  is  more  than  a  transcript  of  a  scene:  it  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  an  ideal,  a  message  to  the  soul.  It  appeals  to  the 
imagination,  stirs  the  emotions,  quickens  sympathy  and  all  kin- 
dred noble  feelings  and  sentiments.  Such  a  picture  as  Raphael's 
"The  Sistine  Madonna"  may  be  best  described  as  the  visualiza- 
tion of  a  spiritual  ideal.  There  is  no  better  way  of  bringing  our 
pupils  into  contact  with  great  spiritual  ideas  and  ideals  than 
through  the  use  of  great  pictures. 

Teachers  who  have  access  to  good  public  libraries  will  usually 
find  it  possible  to  procure  loose  photographs  and  prints  for  use 
in  the  class.  Books  that  contain  at  least  fairly  good  reproduc- 
tions can  always  be  obtained.  Through  judicial  selection  ex- 
tending over  a  series  of  years  a  teacher  at  a  moderate  expendi- 
ture may  make  a  collection  of  unmounted  photographs  that  will 
be  a  personal  treasure  and  a  valuable  aid  in  teaching.  Dis- 
crimination in  selection  will  need  to  be  cultivated. 

The  use  of  cheap,  gaudy,  and  inartistic  pictures  and  picture 
rolls  in  the  Sunday  school  should  be  discouraged.  In  the  past 
it  has  been  common  practice  to  use  crude,  inaccurate,  and  in- 
artistic prints.  The  idea  that  they  were  really  helpful  was  a 
mistaken  notion.  There  is  no  place  in  religious  teaching  for  that 
which  offends  the  sense  of  the  artistic  and  the  beautiful. 

(c)  Maps. — As  an  aid  in  forming  definite  and  accurate  ideas 
of  size,  distance,  and  direction  maps  are  important  in  teaching. 
The  mere  name  of  a  place  means  very  little  to  a  pupil  when  first 
brought  to  his  notice.  It  must  be  definitely  placed — visualized  in 
its  relationship  to  other  places  about  which  he  knows  in  order 
to  have  significance.  This  can  be  accomplished  through  the  use 
of  the  map.  Maps  also  objectify,  make  concrete,  and  give  sig- 
nificance to  many  facts  that  otherwise  would  simply  be  held  in 
memory  as  meaningless  bits  of  information.  In  addition  to  the 
large  detail  maps  simple  outline  maps  and  a  relief  map  of 
Palestine  will  be  found  useful. 

id)  Diagrams. — In  the  exposition  of  abstract  ideas  the  teacher 
will  often  find  an  original  diagram  a  valuable  means  of  making 
clear  and  definite  that  which  would  otherwise  remain  obscure  to 
the  pupil.  Even  that  which  seems  perfectly  simple  to  the  teacher 
may  be  better  understood  by  some  pupils  by  means  of  a  diagram- 
matic representation.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  case 
of  a  book  as  »mple  aa  Adaju'a  Primer  of  Teaching  a  group  of 


ILLUSTRATIONS  61 

Sunday-school  teachers  testified  that  a  set  of  diagrams  giving  a 
graphic  representation  of  the  main  points  of  the  various  chapters 
enabled  them  to  understand  the  text  in  a  much  more  practical 
way. 

(e)  Blackboard. — It  would  be  well  if  a  blackboard  were  always 
within  reach  of  the  teacher.  It  may  be  profitably  utilized  in 
many  ways.  The  writing  of  an  important  word  or  phrase,  the 
statement  of  a  principle  or  a  definition,  an  outline  or  summary 
of  the  lesson,  a  sketch  of  an  object,  a  diagram  as  an  aid  to 
exposition,  are  a  few  of  the  uses  to  which  it  lends  itself.  Many 
teachers  who  imagine  they  cannot  use  the  blackboard  at  all 
would  find  with  a  little  practice  that  it  would  be  of  much 
service.  Elaborate  symbolic  designs,  placed  upon  the  blackboard 
in  advance  of  the  session,  used  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the 
past  for  lesson  exposition  before  the  whole  Sunday  school,  are  of 
comparatively  little  value.  They  are  open  to  the  same  criticism 
made  above  to  object  teaching.  When  a  stationary  blackboard 
is  impracticable,  a  portable  substitute  may  be  devised.  Lacking 
this,  large  sheets  of  ordinary  Manila  paper  with  crayons  will  be 
found  serviceable. 

(/)  Stereoscope. — The  stereoscope  may  be  used  occasionally 
with  profit  in  Sunday-school  teaching.  Its  peculiar  value  is  that 
it  represents  objects  in  three  dimensions  and  in  this  way  fur- 
nishes an  appearance  of  reality  that  is  not  supplied  by  any  other 
form  of  pictorial  representation.  The  disadvantage  attending  its 
use  is  that  only  one  pupil  at  a  time  may  look  at  a  picture. 
Unless  skillfully  managed  its  use  is  wasteful  of  time. 

Pbincitles  of  Illustration 

Certain  general  principles  that  govern  the  effective  use  of 
illustration,  both  verbal  and  material,  should  be  recognized: 

1.  The  illustration  sUould  have  to  do  with  that  which  is 
familiar.  Usually  it  should  be  both  simple  and  concrete.  To  be 
most  effective  it  should  deal  with  matter  within  the  range  of 
the  pupil's  experience.  Unless  it  is  more  familiar  than  that 
which  it  is  meant  to  illustrate  it  will  be  of  no  service.  The 
mistake  is  sometimes  made  of  trying  to  illustrate  by  something 
less  known  than  that  which  it  is  desired  to  throw  light  upon. 
An  illustration  that  brings  in  the  unknown  serves  only  to  in- 
crease perplexity.  In  a  certain  text  an  author  of  great  ability 
refers  to  the  Song  at  the  Red  Sea,  Exodus  15.  1-18.  In  seeking 
to  establish  the  contention  that  it  was  not  composed  complete  at 
one  time,  but  that  it  was  the  result  of  a  process  of  growth  he  re- 


62  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

fers  to  the  ballad  of  "Chevy  Chase."  A  teacher  never  having 
heard  of  the  ballad  of  "Chevy  Chase"  and  wishing  more  informa- 
tion than  is  contained  in  the  textbook,  sought  help  in  vain  from 
his  pastor,  an  acquaintance  who  is  a  college  professor,  and  the 
librarian  of  the  city  library.  The  fitness  of  the  illustration 
should  of  course  be  judged  from  the  pupil's  standpoint.  That 
which  is  perfectly  familiar  to  the  teacher  may  be  entirely  strange 
to  the  pupil. 

2.  The  connection  should  te  'plainly  apparent.  Far-fetched 
illustrations — that  is,  illustrations  in  which  the  connection  needs 
to  be  pointed  out — are  of  little  or  no  service.  "Illustrations 
that  are  dragged  in,  that  are  not  vitally  connected  with  the  point, 
are  entirely  out  of  place.  If  illustrations  always  truly  illus- 
trated, then  children  would  not  remember  the  illustration  and 
forget  the  point;  for,  remembering  the  illustration,  they  would 
be  led  directly  to  the  point  because  of  the  closeness  of  the  connec- 
tion."^ 

3.  There  should  6e  no  striking  dissimilarity.  Two  things  may 
be  much  alike  in  some  one  particular — yet  so  strikingly  dis- 
similar in  another  as  to  spoil  the  effect  of  the  comparison  or 
even  make  it  ludicrous. 

^.  The  illustration  should  not  6e  too  striking,  too  attractive, 
or  too  suggestive.  An  illustration  may  be  so  vivid  and  attractive 
that  it  centers  attention  upon  itself.  The  illustration  becomes 
the  important  thing,  and  that  which  it  is  intended  to  illustrate 
becomes  secondary  or  even  unimportant.  The  purpose  of  illus- 
tration is  not  to  amuse,  or  to  entertain,  or  even  to  create  in- 
terest, but  to  make  clear.  Illustration  should  not  be  depended  on 
to  attract  or  to  hold  the  attention.  The  lesson  material  itself 
should  do  that;  and  if,  when  properly  presented,  it  fails  to  do 
so,  illustrations  are  of  little  use.  Sometimes  an  illustration 
otherwise  suitable  is  too  suggestive;  it  contains  some  suggestion 
that  leads  away  from  the  lesson  and  thus  distracts  more  than 
it  helps. 

Finding  Illustrations 

1.  Use  original  material.  The  matter  of  procuring  illustra- 
tions should  first  of  all  be  a  matter  of  originating  them.  The 
illustration  taken  over  from  a  printed  collection  usually  requires 
to  have  a  place  made  for  it  in  the  narrative  or  the  argument 
instead  of  fitting  in  naturally.  That  taken  from  the  teacher's 
own  experience  or  from  the  lives  of  the  pupils  has  a  freshness. 


^  How  to  Teach,  Strayer  and  Norsworthy,  pace  210. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  63 

vitality,  and  strength  of  appeal  that  no  borrowed  incident  can 
have. 

2.  Cultivate  the  imagination.  The  teacher  needs  imagination 
quite  as  much  as  the  pupils.  Insist  upon  your  own  mind  furnish- 
ing you  with  rhetorical  figures.  Cultivate  the  ability  to  see 
truth  in  the  concrete.  Trust  your  inspirations.  The  mind  will 
respond,  and  that  which  at  first  seemed  extremely  difficult  will 
in  time  become  natural. 

3.  Be  observing.  Be  always  on  the  alert  for  illustrations  with 
which  to  enrich  your  teaching.  Finding  illustrations  is  largely 
a  matter  of  persistently  looking  for  them.  It  is  an  excellent  plan 
to  keep  at  hand  a  small  notebook  in  which  to  note  analogies, 
comparisons,  incidents,  anecdotes,  original  observations,  and 
illustrations  of  every  kind  that  can  possibly  be  of  service  in 
teaching.  Another  good  plan  is  to  have  a  Bible  either  interleaved 
with  blank  pages  or  with  wide  margins,  in  which  may  be  noted 
thoughts,  incidents,  and  quotations  that  illustrate  Scripture 
passages.  In  time,  by  diligent  use  of  these  plans,  the  teacher 
will  have  original  sources  of  illustrations  invaluable  in  teaching. 

4.  Collect  material  illustrations.  It  is  well  worth  while  to 
collect  material  illustrations,  especially  models  and  other  objects 
illustrative  of  Oriental  life,  and  choice  photographs.  A  compara- 
tively small  amount  invested  annually  will  in  a  few  years  result 
in  a  collection  of  large  use  in  religious  teaching. 

C0NSTRU:CTIVE   TASK 

1.  Observe  the  teaching  of  some  good  teacher.  Take  notes  on: 
(a)  the  extent  of  the  use  of  illustrations;  (6)  different  kinds  of 
illustrations  used;   (c)  their  source. 

2.  Think  of  your  own  experience  as  a  Sunday-school  pupil, 
(a)  To  what  extent  were  you  helped  by  illustrations?  (&)  What 
kinds  of  illustration  interested  you  most? 

Refeeences  for  Supplementary  Reading 
In  "The  Worker  and  Work"  series 

1.  The  value  and  use  of  illustrations:  The  Senior  Worker  and 
Work,  Chapter  IX. 

In  the  library 

1.  Illustration:  Primer  on  Teaching,  Adams,  Chapter  IX. 

2.  Sidelights  on  illustration:   Picture  Work,  Hervey,  Chapter 
IV. 


64  PRINCIPLES    OP   RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

3.  Dangers    of    illustration:    Exposition    and    Illustration    in 
Teaching,  Adams,  Chapter  XVI. 

4.  Adding  new  knowledge  through  illustration:   An  Introduc- 
tion to  High-school  Teaching,  Colvin,  Chapter  XII. 


CHAPTER  VII 
LESSON    PLANS 

A  WELL-KNOWN  cducatoF,  in  discussing  teaching  in  the  public- 
schools,  indicates  that  it  is  less  eflBcient  than  it  should  be  because 
of  two  common  faults:  first,  many  teachers  go  before  their 
classes  day  after  day  without  any  clearly  defined  aim  in  mind; 
second,  they  go  before  their  classes  without  having  determined 
any  plan  of  procedure  for  the  hour.  Could  this  same  criticism 
be  fairly  made  of  the  work  of  Sunday-school  teachers?  Is  it 
common  for  teachers  in  Sunday  schools  to  have  no  clearly  defined 
idea  of  what  they  are  to  try  to  accomplish  in  a  given  hour  or 
how  they  are  to  go  about  it?  Is  it  not  probably  true  that  these 
faults  are  even  more  prevalent  in  Sunday-school  teaching  than 
in  public-school  practice? 

Success  in  any  line  of  endeavor  depends  on  a  well-formulated 
plan  of  action.  It  is  not  the  result  of  accident;  it  does  not 
merely  happen  by  chance.  As  in  anything  else,  so  also  in  teach- 
ing: success  comes  as  the  result  of  effort  definitely  directed 
toward  an  end  intelligently  chosen.  As  the  pattern  aids  the 
dressmaker,  the  architect's  plan  the  builder,  so  the  lesson  plan 
serves  the  teacher. 

Making  A  Lesson  Plan 

The  Aim. — First  to  be  determined  by  the  teacher  in  planning 
a  lesson  is  what  he  proposes  to  teach,  and  why  he  desires  to 
teach  it.  The  statement  of  what  he  proposes  to  accomplish 
through  the  use  of  the  lesson  material  is  commonly  called  the 
aim. 

In  the  International  Graded  Lessons  a  general  aim  is  expressed 
for  an  entire  series  and  again  for  each  year  of  the  series.  For 
example,  the  aim  for  the  Junior  Series  is:  "to  help  the  child  to 
become  a  doer  of  the  Word  and  to  lead  him  into  conscious 
loyalty  to  Jesus  Christ."  The  aims  for  each  of  the  four  years 
are  these:  (1)  "to  awaken  an  interest  in  the  Bible  and  love  for 
it;  to  deepen  the  impulse  to  choose  and  to  do  the  right";  (2) 
"to  present  the  ideal  of  moral  heroism,  to  reveal  the  power  and 
majesty  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  show  his  followers  going  forth 

65 


66  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

in  his  strength  to  do  his  work";  (3)  "to  deepen  the  sense  of 
responsibility  for  right  choices;  to  strengthen  love  of  the  right 
and  hatred  of  the  wrong";  (4)  "to  present  Jesus  as  our  Example 
and  Saviour;  to  show  that  the  Christian  life  is  a  life  of  service; 
to  deepen  interest  in  the  Book  which  contains  God's  message  to 
the  world."  In  addition  to  these  general  aims  a  specific  aim  is 
stated  for  each  lesson.  For  example,  let  us  take  Lesson  I.  The 
subject  is  "In  the  Beginning."  The  teaching  material  is  Genesis 
1.  1  to  2.  3.  The  aim  is:  "to  present  the  thought  of  God  as  the 
Creator  of  all  things,  the  rightful  Ruler  of  the  universe,  and  to 
establish  in  the  child  an  attitude  of  reverence  toward  God  as 
Creator  and  toward  nature  as  his  work." 

In  most  of  the  lesson  helps  prepared  for  the  use  of  Sunday- 
school  teachers  a  specific  aim  is  stated  for  each  lesson.  In  many 
cases,  perhaps  in  most  cases,  it  will  be  well  for  the  teacher  to 
adopt  the  specific  aim  as  stated  in  the  lesson  help.  Sometimes  it 
will  be  wiser  to  formulate  a  different  aim.  There  are  few 
lessons  taken  from  the  Bible  which  will  not  lend  themselves 
almost  equally  well  to  more  than  one  aim.  Read,  for  example, 
John  1.  29-49.  What  aims  might  a  teacher  have  in  teaching  this 
material?  In  one  lesson  course  the  aim  is  stated:  "To  make 
practical  to  each  child  the  thought  that  he  may  become  a  follower 
of  the  Lord  Jesus."  With  equal  appropriateness  the  aim  might 
be:  "to  discover  the  meaning  of  comradeship  with  Jesus."  An 
entirely  different  aim  but  equally  appropriate  would  be:  "to 
teach  the  duty  and  privilege  of  bearing  witness  concerning  Jesus 
Christ."  Not  infrequently  it  will  happen  that  the  aim  stated  is 
not  the  one  best  adapted  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  particular 
class  the  teacher  is  called  upon  to  teach.  It  is  the  teacher's 
responsibility  to  decide  as  to  this.  The  aim  cannot  be  too  clearly 
and  sharply  defined.  Often  the  class  session  is  without  effect 
because  the  teacher's  aim  is  not  closely  related  to  the  pupils' 
lives.  If,  after  thoughtful  consideration,  it  is  the  teacher's 
judgment  that  an  aim  other  than  that  stated  in  the  lesson  help 
is  preferable,  there  should  be  no  hesitation  in  making  a  change. 

Colvin  lists  several  common  faults  in  the  statement  of  aims 
by  teachers,^  among  them  these:  (1)  The  teacher  states  his  aims 
in  too  general  and  indefinite  terms.  (2)  The  teacher  formulates 
aims  that  are  beyond  the  understanding  of  the  pupils  or  are  so 
large  and  comprehensive  that  they  cannot  be  grasped  easily. 
(3)  The  teacher  sets  up  aims  that  are  largely  formal  and  so 
obvious  that  they  are  of  no  value  in  the  actual  teaching  of  the 

^Introduction  to  High-School  Teaching,  page  344ff. 


LESSON   PLANS  67 

lesson.  (4)  The  teacher's  aim  is  the  same  day  after  day.  (5) 
The  teacher  attempts  to  realize  too  many  aims  in  the  course  of 
a  single  lesson.  Thinking  of  your  own  teaching  or  of  that  of 
other  teachers  with  whose  work  you  are  familiar,  do  you  con- 
sider this  criticism  valid  as  applied  to  Sunday-school  teaching? 
Which  of  these  faults  have  you  commonly  observed?  Which 
have  you  not  found? 

The  Outline  of  Lesson  Material. — A  second  step  in  the 
teacher's  preparation  is  the  organization  of  the  lesson  material. 
By  this  we  mean  the  construction  of  an  outline  showing  its 
structure.  If  it  is  an  argument,  the  outline  should  show  the 
logical  sequence,  or  development  of  the  argument,  with  the  main 
points  emphasized.  If  it  is  a  narrative  of  action,  the  outline 
should  indicate  the  chronological  sequence,  bringing  out  the 
events  of  chief  importance.  If  it  is  a  story,  the  outline  should 
indicate  its  various  parts.  In  many  cases  construction  of  the 
outline  may  be  preliminary  to  the  choice  of  aim — that  is,  the 
teacher  may  find  it  necessary  to  discover  the  development  of 
thought  of  the  subject  matter  before  finally  stating  the  aim. 
The  outline  should  be  brief  and  not  unduly  complicated,  indi- 
cating only  the  points  of  outstanding  importance,  that  the  teacher 
may  keep  it  in  mind  while  teaching  and  be  able  to  use  it  as  a 
working  basis. 

The  Tentative  Scheme  of  Lesson  Presentation. — The  third 
step  in  the  teacher's  preparation  is  to  plan  the  procedure  of 
teaching  the  lesson.  This  should  be  done  with  the  thought  that 
it  may  be  only  tentative,  as  the  circumstances  of  the  hour  may 
make  it  desirable  to  do  something  entirely  different.  No  teacher 
is  more  helpless  than  the  one  who  feels  bound  to  follow  a  plan 
that  unexpected  developments  have  made  unsuitable. 

(a)  The  approach. — The  first  thing  is  to  choose  a  point  of  contact. 
By  this  is  meant  something  in  which  the  pupils  are  interested, 
about  which  they  have  been  thinking  and  are  ready  to  talk,  and 
which  can  be  naturally  related  to  that  which  it  is  desired  to 
teach.  The  purpose  is  to  connect  the  pupil's  present  interest 
with  that  which  it  is  desired  to  bring  to  him.  The  point  of 
contact  may  be  any  one  of  many  things:  a  previous  lesson,  a 
striking  occurrence  of  the  preceding  week,  an  experience  of  some 
mxcmber  of  the  class,  a  desire  to  solve  a  problem,  something  that 
some  one  of  the  pupils  has  expressed  a  desire  to  do — any  matter 
of  present  interest,  in  fact,  which  may  be  connected  with  the 
lesson  teaching. 


68  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

In  choosing  a  point  of  contact  it  is  not  necessary  that  the 
teacher  should  be  bound  by  his  outline.  The  outline  should  not 
be  entirely  disregarded;  neither  should  it  hamper  the  teacher 
in  getting  a  good  start.  If  the  focus  of  interest  or  need  of  the 
pupils  does  not  coincide  with  the  first  point  of  the  outline,  be 
free  to  begin  at  any  point.  It  will  be  comparatively  easy  later 
to  go  back  and  catch  up  any  omitted  points  that  are  important. 

A  point  of  contact  having  been  chosen,  the  pupils'  aim  should 
be  stated.  By  the  pupils'  aim  is  meant  the  purpose  that  the 
teacher  desires  the  pupils  to  form  for  themselves,  sometimes  at 
the  beginning  of  the  lesson,  more  often  as  the  result  of  the 
lesson  teaching.  The  teacher  is  not  to  tell  the  pupils  what  their 
aim  should  be:  fie  is  to  lead  them  to  choose  their  own  aim;  but 
to  do  this  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  get  it  clearly  in  mind  and 
decide  how  he  will  lead  them  to  formulate  it,  each  in  his  own 
way.  The  plan  should  show  how  the  teacher  intends  to  do  this. 
The  pupils'  aim  will  be  similar  to  the  teacher's  aim  but  different 
in  form.  For  a  lesson  on  "How  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day,"  based  on 
Mark  2.  23  to  3.  6,  the  teacher's  aim  might  be  stated:  "To  lead 
to  a  joyous  keeping  of  the  Lord's  day  as  he  would  have  it  kept." 
The  pupils'  aim  might  be  stated:  "How  would  the  Lord  have 
me  keep  his  day?" 

In  recent  years  an  increasing  emphasis  has  been  given  to  the 
place  of  problems  in  teaching.  Instead  of  talking  about  the 
lesson  aim  we  frequently  speak  of  presenting  the  lesson  in  terms 
of  a  problem.  All  activity  of  the  child,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  is 
directed  to  the  solution  of  some  practical  problem.  When  any 
need  is  felt,  the  problem  of  how  the  need  may  be  satisfied  im- 
mediately presents  itself.  Since  problems  have  so  large  a  place 
in  the  life  of  the  pupil,  it  is  a  distinct  advantage  if  the  lesson 
can  be  stated  in  terms  of  a  problem. 

{l)  The  lesson  development. — The  next  thing  to  be  done  in 
planning  the  procedure  of  teaching  the  lesson  is  to  decide  upon 
the  method  of  presentation  of  the  material.  The  method  may 
be  any  one  of  several — story-telling,  questions  and  discussion, 
topical  recitation,  lecture,  or  otherwise,  as  the  teacher  may 
prefer.  The  method  should  be  worked  out  in  outline,  with  the 
various  steps  indicated.  The  order  of  this  outline  may  not  cor- 
respond to  the  teacher's  preliminary  outline  of  the  lesson  material 
but  when  complete  it  will  include  all  the  essential  points  of  it. 

If  it  is  proposed  to  use  questions,  it  will  be  profitable  to  write 
out  a  few,  especially  at  the  points  where  new  topics  are  to  be 
introduced.     To  prepare  a  full  set  of  questions,  to  be  read  off, 


LESSON   PLANS  69 

means  that  the  teaching  process  will  be  robbed  of  its  life  and 
become  merely  a  dull,  wooden  procedure.  If  topics  have  been 
assigned  for  report,  these  should  be  indicated.  If  references  are 
to  be  read,  provision  should  be  made  for  them.  Illustrations 
should  be  jotted  down,  and  a  list  made  of  illustrative  objects, 
maps,  or  charts  that  are  to  be  used.  In  brief,  each  step  in  the 
lesson  development  should  be  decided  upon  and  indicated  in  the 
lesson  plan. 

(c)  TJie  application. — Next  in  order  is  the  application.  It  is 
not  the  teacher  but  the  pupil  who  makes  the  application.  In  fact, 
only  the  pupil  can  make  the  application,  since  by  the  word  we 
mean  a  resultant  change  in  the  pupil's  feeling  and  conduct. 
Anything  the  teacher  may  say  by  way  of  applying  the  lesson  is 
external  to  the  pupil's  will.  He  is  a  free,  self-active  personality 
and  must  apply  the  lesson  himself.  The  teacher  may  aid  by  sug- 
gestive questions  and  by  bringing  situations  to  the  attention  of 
the  pupils  in  which  others  have  acted,  or  in  which  opportunities 
are  presented  for  activities  in  line  with  the  teaching  of  the 
lesson.  Such  questions  and  suggestions  may  well  be  noted  in 
advance  as  a  part  of  the  lesson  plan. 

The  Assignment. — Finally,  the  teacher  should  look  forward 
to  the  advance  lesson.  The  teacher's  most  important  question 
is,  "How  may  a  motive  for  study  be  established  in  the  pupils' 
minds?"  The  almost  universal  complaint  among  Sunday-school 
teachers  is  that  their  pupils  do  not  study  their  lessons.  The 
reason  they  do  not  study  is  that  the  teachers  fail  to  establish  a 
motive  for  study.  Unfortunately  we  may  seldom  safely  assume 
that  a  sufficient  motive  already  exists.  With  primary  and  junior 
pupils  a  system  of  awards  and  credits  may  be  used  with  good 
effect.  In  case  they  are  used,  the  lesson  plan  should  contain 
provision  for  mentioning  them  in  connection  with  assigning  the 
lesson.  In  some  cases  curiosity  or,  what  is  more  important, 
desire  for  specific  items  of  new  knowledge  may  be  appealed  to. 
Very  often  a  brief  discussion  may  be  made  to  reveal  to  the 
pupils  the  value  of  the  lesson  in  aiding  them  to  solve  vital  prob- 
lems of  their  lives.  "The  recognition  of  a  problem,"  says  Ear- 
hart,  "is  the  first  factor  in  proper  study.  .  .  .  This  problem  must 
be  felt  as  such  by  those  who  are  to  study,  or  else  the  motive  and 
guide  for  thought  are  lacking.  In  order  that  the  thinking  may 
be  accurate,  the  problem  must  be  clearly  defined  to  the  mind  of 
the  person  who  is  to  do  the  thinking."^ 

We  have  now  stated  the  essentials  of  a  well-made  lesson  plan. 


1  Teaching  Children  to  Study,  page  22. 


70  PRINCIPLES    OP    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

We  have  purposely  made  the  statement  somewhat  free  and  in- 
formal. It  is  not  to  be  thought  of  as  a  rigid  scheme  to  be  abso- 
lutely followed  in  all  details.  In  one  form  or  another  a  good 
lesson  plaa  will  include,  with  more  or  less  emphasis  upon  each, 
the  four  essentials  we  have  named.  Compare,  at  this  point,  the 
lesson  plans  presented  in  the  Appendix.  Note  in  each  case  simi- 
larities and  differences  as  compared  with  the  outline  presented 
above. 

The  Herbartian  Plan 

Any  discussion  of  the  subject  of  lesson  plans  would  be  incom- 
plete without  at  least  some  reference  to  the  plan  set  forth  by 
Herbart,  which  has  received  universal  recognition. 

The  Five  Steps. — The  plan  involves  five  steps,  so  called, 
which,  stated  as  briefly  as  possible,  are:  (1)  preparation  of  the 
pupil's  mind;  (2)  presentation  of  the  new  material;  (3)  asso- 
ciation of  the  new  material  with  what  the  pupil  already  knows, 
using  comparison  and  contrast  to  make  the  main  points  of  the 
lesson  short  and  clear;  (4)  generalization,  in  which  the  pupil 
is  led  to  formulate  the  main  proposition  for  himself;  (5)  applica- 
tion, in  which  the  pupil  is  led  to  make  some  use  of  what  he  has 
acquired.^ 

Appreciation  and  Criticism. — As  a  formal  plan  for  inductive 
teaching  the  Herbartian  plan  probably  cannot  be  improved  upon. 
Often  it  may  be  followed  without  alteration.  It  is  to  be  noted, 
however,  that  the  first  step  is  at  least  partly  accomplished  in 
lesson  preparation;  that  the  plan  sometimes  applies  better  to  a 
series  of  lessons  than  to  a  single  lesson,  in  which  case  an  entire 
lesson  period  may  be  devoted  to  a  single  step;  and  that  not 
infrequently  not  all  of  the  steps  are  necessary.  The  chief  objec- 
tion to  the  plan  is  that  there  has  been  a  tendency  with  some 
teachers  to  regard  it  as  the  only  worth-while  type  of  teaching 
and  to  allow  it  to  become  rigid  and  mechanical.  The  result  has 
been  that  it  has  tended  to  the  use  of  a  stereotyped  form,  robbing 
teaching  of  variety  and  life. 

The  Use  of  Lesson  Plans 

The  Pathway  to  Power. — The  making  of  a  complete  lesson 
plan  may  seem  to  the  novice  in  teaching  to  involve  an  unneces- 
sary amount  of  labor.  For  the  beginner,  certainly,  it  is  necessary 
and  it  is  one  of  the  surest  of  all  pathways  to  power.     With  ex- 


1  For  a  brief  discussion  of  the  "five  steps"  see  the  Primer  on  Teaching,  Adams,  Chap- 
ter VI;  for  a  more  thorough  discussion,  The  Educative  Process,  Bagley,  Chapter  XIXT. 


LESSON   PLANS  71 

perience  and  gradually  acquired  skill  the  detail  that  at  first  was 
indispensable  will  become  less  necessary.  After  some  years  of 
teaching  it  may  be  found  sufficient  to  prepare  a  statement  of  the 
teacher's  aim  or  aims,  the  pupil's  aim,  the  principal  topics  of  the 
subject  matter  and  questions  with  which  to  introduce  them. 
References  also  will  be  required.  As  one  goes  on,  not  all  lessons 
will  need  to  be  planned  in  complete  detail.  It  should  be  realized, 
however,  that  indifference  to  careful  planning  is  the  peril  of 
experienced  teachers  and  that  exact  preparation  is  the  only  safe- 
guard against  discursiveness. 

How  to  Use  the  Lesson  Plan. — Our  emphasis  upon  the  neces- 
sity of  the  lesson  plan  is  not  to  be  understood  as  an  indorsement 
of  a  slavish  use  of  it.  It  is  not  something  that  is  to  be  adhered 
to  at  all  costs.  Sometimes  circumstances  will  require  that  it  be 
altered  in  the  course  of  the  lesson  period. 

Should  a  teacher  use  a  ready-made  plan?  Most  lesson  helps 
provide  a  teaching  plan.  Should  this  be  taken  over  and  used 
without  change  or  with  the  addition  of  any  supplementary 
material  the  teacher  may  have  collected?  There  are  two  objec- 
tions to  such  a  procedure.  The  ready-made  plan  is  likely  to 
have  very  little  relation  to  the  needs  or  problems  of  the  par- 
ticular group  of  pupils  that  it  is  the  teacher's  responsibility  to 
teach.  It  is  important  that  a  plan  shall  be  prepared  with  their 
needs  and  problems  in  mind.  Again,  no  ready-made  plan,  no 
matter  how  excellent,  can  be  used  with  the  same  sense  of  per- 
sonal possession  and  consciousness  of  power  as  accompanies  a 
plan  that  one  has  worked  out  for  himself.  The  plan  furnished 
in  the  lesson  help  may  aid  the  teacher  materially  in  working  out 
his  own  plan;  it  should  never  be  used  as  a  substitute  for  a  plan 
of  one's  own. 

CONSTKUCTIVE    TaSK 

1.  Criticize  the  following  statement  of  aim  taken  from  a 
teachers'  magazine:  (a)  "The  aim  of  the  lesson  is  to  discover 
the  essential  message  of  the  book  of  Revelation  for  the  people 
of  John's  day,  and  also  the  permanent  message  for  all  ages. 
What  great  and  particular  need  do  we  have  of  this  message  just 
at  this  time?" 

2.  Observe  the  teaching  of  a  particular  lesson:  (a)  Is  it  evi- 
dent that  the  teacher  has  a  definite  aim  in  mind?  (6)  Does  the 
teacher  seem  to  know  from  time  to  time  the  direction  he  desires 
to  go  and  to  guide  the  questions  and  discussion  in  that  direction, 


72  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

or  does  the  direction  the  lesson  takes  seem  to  be  a  matter  of 
chance? 

3.  Select  a  particular  lesson  from  the   International  Graded 
Lessons  and  develop  a  detailed  teaching  plan. 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 

In  "The  Worker  and  Work'*  series 

1.  An   hour   with    a   skilled   Primary   teacher:    The   Primary 
Worker  and  Work,  Chapter  II. 

2.  Planning  a  lesson  for  juniors :  The  Junior  Worker  and  Work, 
pages  74-78. 

In  the  library 

1.  The   preparation   of  lesson  plans:    A  Brief  Course  in  the 
Teaching  Process,  Strayer,  Chapter  XVI. 

2.  What   a   lesson   plan   should  include:    Types   of   Teaching, 
Earhart,  Chapter  XV. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
INTEREST  AND  ATTENTION 

It  is  said  that  one  evening  President  Oilman  of  Johns  Hopkins 
University  and  Professor  Sylvester,  the  great  mathematician, 
went  together  to  the  opera.  As  they  were  coming  out.  President 
Oilman  asked  his  companion  how  he  had  enjoyed  it.  Professor 
Sylvester  said:  "I  got  to  thinking  about  a  mathematical  problem 
and  forgot  all  about  the  opera."  Then  he  proceeded  to  lead  the 
president  into  the  maze  of  an  intricate  mathematical  formula. 
His  interest  in  a  problem  of  mathematics  was  so  deep  that  no 
attention  was  given  to  the  sights  and  sounds  presented  by  the 
opera. 

There  are  two  inferences  from  this  incident  which  rest  upon  a 
sound  educational  basis:  first,  without  attention  there  can  he  no 
teaching;  and,  second,  attention  depends  on  interest.  These  two 
principles  the  teacher  should  have  ever  before  him.  There  is  no 
use  attempting  to  teach  without  attention.  The  attempt  is  only 
a  waste  of  effort.  Though  the  pupil's  body  may  be  before  you, 
his  mind  is  somewhere  else.  To  insure  attention  you  must  appeal 
to  interest.    But  what  is  attention  and  what  is  interest? 

The  Nature  and  Use  of  Attention 

Wliat  Attention  Is. — In  the  field  of  consciousness  there  is 
always  a  focal  point  with  which  we  are  more  concerned  than 
anything  else.  At  any  particular  moment  some  one  idea  or  per- 
ception or  some  group  of  ideas  or  perceptions  is  at  focus  in  the 
field  of  consciousness.  In  a  flash  this  focal  point  may  have  been 
displaced,  and  something  else  may  have  taken  its  place.  That  is 
to  say,  consciousness  always  presents  a  focus  and  a  margin. 
That  which  is  focal  in  consciousness  at  a  particular  moment  is 
the  otject  of  attention.  Always  some  perception,  idea,  or  feeling 
stands  out  with  greater  prominence  in  consciousness  than  any- 
thing else.  The  teacher  who  asserts  that  her  pupils  are  in- 
attentive is  in  error.  They  may  not  be  attentive  to  what  she  is 
trying  to  teach,  but  be  sure  they  are  attending  to  something. 
While  she  speaks  of  Peter's  sermon,  one  boy  may  have  his  atten- 
tion centered  on  to-morrow's  football  game,  another  on  how  he 

73 


74  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

can  earn  money  to  buy  a  new  necktie,  and  a  third  on  the  roast 
duck  that  the  family  is  to  have  for  dinner.  If  they  are  normal 
boys,  there  is  no  inattention  among  them;  so  long  as  they  are 
conscious  they  are  attending  to  something. 

Kinds  of  Attention. — It  is  essential  in  our  study  of  the  sub- 
ject that  we  distinguish  between  what  may  for  convenience  be 
spoken  of  as  different  kinds  of  attention.  The  textbooks  on 
psychology  use  various  terms;  the  following  are  sufficiently 
simple  to  be  easily  understandable  and  at  the  same  time  scien- 
tifically accurate: 

(a)  Involuntary  attention. — Frequently  we  have  had  the  ex- 
perience of  loud  noises,  bright  flashes  of  light,  unpleasant  odors, 
swiftly  moving  objects  forcing  themselves  into  the  center  of  con- 
sciousness. Not  always  have  these  experiences  had  to  do  with  sense 
impressions.  Sometimes  ideas  intrude  unbidden  and  seemingly 
compel  our  attention.  For  the  time  being  the  object  of  attention 
seems  to  dominate  the  mind.  If  we  analyze  the  situation  we  say 
that  we  cannot  help  giving  our  attention.  It  is  given  in  accord- 
ance with  fundamental  instinctive  tendencies.  With  the  infant 
all  attention  is  of  this  involuntary  type.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
experience  begins  to  be  built  up.  We  never  entirely  outgrow  this 
form  of  attention.  A  flash  of  lightning,  a  clap  of  thunder,  the 
sharp  clanging  of  a  bell  close  at  hand — these  and  other  similar 
stimuli  compel  attention  throughout  life. 

(&)  Spontaneous  attention. — What  are  some  of  the  things  that 
have  occupied  the  center  of  the  field  of  consciousness  in  our 
minds  within  the  last  few  hours?  As  this  question  is  considered, 
everyone  realizes  that  there  have  been  many  things  that  have 
had  free,  spontaneous  attention.  They  have  not  obtruded  them- 
selves or  compelled  attention,  but  neither  has  it  required  effort 
to  attend  to  them.  Attention  has  been  freely  given  because  of 
interest  or  because  of  the  presence  of  a  sense  of  need.  In  the 
case  of  children  play  is  the  best  example  of  spontaneous  atten- 
tion. A  seven-year-old  child  on  one  rainy  afternoon  outlined 
twenty  doll  dresses  and  gave  herself  uninterruptedly  for  three 
hours  to  the  detailed  drawing  of  the  designs. 

(c)  Voluntary  attention. — Voluntary  attention  is  attention 
with  effort.  Whenever  we  attend  to  anything  in  response  to  a 
definite  act  of  will  we  exercise  voluntary  attention.  You  are  pre- 
paring a  teaching  plan  on  the  conversion  of  Saul.  It  is  evening; 
you  are  fatigued  by  the  day's  work;  others  are  moving  about  and 
conversing  with  one  another.    As  you  proceed  you  control  your 


INTEREST    AND    ATTENTION  75 

thought  processes  with  a  conscious  sense  of  effort.  You  are 
giving  voluntary,  that  is,  forced  attention  to  the  task  you  have 
undertaken. 

Young  children  are  not  capable  of  voluntary  attention;  it 
requires  a  kind  and  degree  of  mental  power  that  they  do  not 
possess.  One  of  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  human 
mind  is  the  capacity  it  has  of  developing  the  power  of  controlling 
attention  instead  of  attention  being  controlled  from  without. 
"The  fundamental  principle  of  human  progress  is  the  ability  to 
hold  the  attention  to  that  which  at  present  exists  only  as  an 
aim  to  be  achieved  or  an  ideal  to  be  realized." 

Voluntary  attention  directed  to  a  specific  end  in  time  becomes 
modified.  As  the  result  of  effort  and  persistence  the  object  of 
forced  attention  may  become  interesting  and  attractive.  In  this 
case  attention  is  no  longer  forced;  it  becomes  spontaneous.^ 

Tlie  Use  of  the  Various  Types  of  Attention. — There  is  very 
little  place  in  eflflcient  teaching  for  the  use  of  involuntary  atten- 
tion. The  appeal  to  it  more  often  than  otherwise  is  likely  to  be 
a  confession  of  weakness  or  ignorance.  The  clanging  of  a  bell, 
rapping  upon  the  desk  or  the  back  of  the  seat,  and  loud  calls 
for  order  have  no  place  in  a  modern  Sunday  school.  It  is  the 
noise,  not  the  lesson,  to  which  attention  is  directed  in  all  such 
efforts.  What  they  really  do  is  to  distract  attention.  There  are 
times  when  it  becomes  desirable  to  appeal  to  instinctive  tenden- 
cies to  attend.  There  are  ways  in  which  this  can  be  done  which 
are  not  objectionable.     These  will  be  suggested  later. 

The  teacher's  dependence  is  chiefly  upon  spontaneous  attention. 
To  be  able  to  appeal  to  it  is  to  insure  that  the  lesson  will  pro- 
ceed smoothly,  pleasantly,  and  effectively.  Throughout  the  ele- 
mentary grades  the  appeal  must  be  almost  wholly  on  the  basis 
of  interest.  It  is  only  as  the  stimulus  and  compulsion  of  interest 
is  secured  that  we  can  have  any  real  assurance  that  desirable, 
lasting  impressions  are  being  registered,  and  that  character  is 
being  permanently  influenced.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be 
remembered  that  religion  has  to  do  very  largely  with  satis- 
factions that  are  not  immediate  but  remote  and  that,  likewise, 
as  the  apostle  says,  "the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
the  Spirit  of  God:  ...  he  cannot  know  them,  because  they  are 
spiritually  judged"  (1  Cor.  2.  14).  There  is  a  necessary  place  in 
the  teaching  of  religion  for  voluntary  attention.    There  are  im- 


1  The  term  used  by  some  psychologista  is  "secondary  passive  attention."  See  Human 
Behavior,  Colvin  and  Bagley,  page  61.  The  entire  discussion  (Chapter  IV)  is  excellent. 


76  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

portant  moral  values  growing  out  of  the  effort  involved  in  giving 
forced  attention — values  of  discipline  and  self-control — which 
should  not  be  overlooked.  As  we  pass  from  childhood  to  adoles- 
cence we  should  attach  increasing  importance  to  voluntary  atten- 
tion. Just  as  the  development  of  intellectual  power  may  be  in 
some  degree  measured  by  the  increase  of  ability  to  give  voluntary 
attention,  so  the  development  of  moral  and  religious  interest  is 
indicated  by  increasing  response  to  ends  that  are  not  identified 
with  immediate  satisfactions. 

The  significance  of  these  two  last-named  types  of  attention  is 
admirably  stated  by  Norsworthy  and  Whitley:  "The  work  that 
counts  in  the  world — the  work  that  discovers  new  principles, 
makes  new  applications,  touches  the  hearts  or  wills  or  consciences 
of  men  and  women — is  always  done  by  spontaneous  attention. 
As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  however,  the  spontaneous  atten- 
tion natural  to  childhood  is  closely  connected  with  his  instincts, 
and  since  these  are  selfish  and  crude  they  do  not  fit  an  individual 
to  live  in  the  civilized  life  of  to-day.  In  order  to  raise  spon- 
taneous attention  from  the  sensory,  individual,  often  selfish  level 
to  the  level  of  the  intellectual,  the  social,  the  ideal,  forced  atten- 
tion is  a  necessary  means  to  an  end.  The  natural  man  does  not 
look  forward  to  remote  ends,  nor  does  he  deny  himself  now  that 
he  may  reap  greater  benefits  later,  nor  does  he  suffer  individual 
privation  in  order  that  the  group  may  profit;  that  comes  only  by 
training  and  involves  forced  attention.  This  type  of  attention 
Is  necessary,  then,  ...  for  development  ...  as  a  means  to  the 
end  of  spontaneous  attention;  instead  of  spontaneous  attention 
on  the  level  of  the  instincts  spontaneous  attention  on  the  level 
of  the  greatest  and  best  ideals.  This  is  the  aim  the  teacher 
should  have  in  mind  in  developing  the  powers  of  attention  in 
children."^ 

The  Nature  of  Interest 

Interest,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  basis  of  attention.  That  is, 
we  attend  spontaneously  to  that  which  has  interest  for  us.  In- 
terest may  therefore  be  said  to  be  the  dominating  motive  in  all 
learning. 

What  interest  is. — But  what  is  interest?  We  have  all  used 
the  word  in  conversation  many  times.  We  have  used  it,  perhaps, 
at  different  times  with  different  meanings.  What  do  we  mean  by 
interest  when  we  say  that  it  is  the  basis  of  attention? 

Attention  and  interest  cannot  be  sharply  differentiated.    They 


^  Paychologv  of  Childhood,  page  107. 


INTEREST    AND    ATTENTION  77 

are  not  separate  and  distinct;  rather  they  are  inseparable.  Pos- 
sibly a  better  definition  cannot  be  given  than  to  say  that  interest 
is  the  "feeling  side"  of  attention.  It  may  be  likened  to  a  reser- 
voir fed  by  two  springs — one  stream  rising  in  the  feelings  of 
satisfaction  and  pleasure  or  of  pain,  and  one  in  the  judgment  of 
value. 

The  teacher's  dependence  on  interest.  —  The  fact  that  the 
teacher  is  almost  wholly  dependent  on  interest  in  effective  teach- 
ing may  be  abundantly  illustrated  from  our  own  experience. 
How  often,  conscious  that  you  ought  to  do  a  particular  thing, 
have  you  vainly  set  yourself  to  the  task  because  you  have  no 
interest  in  it?  How  often  have  you  found  yourself  perfectly 
absorbed  in  a  difficult  task  because  it  has  for  you  an  immediate 
and  profound  interest?  Without  interest  there  is  no  spontaneous 
attention;  without  attention  there  is  no  learning. 

Teachers  are  sometimes  exhorted  to  make  the  subject  in  hand 
interesting  to  their  pupils.  The  injunction  is  not  wholly  without 
point.  Much  more  fundamental  is  it  to  choose  material  that 
appeals  to  the  pupils'  interests.  If  lessons  are  properly  chosen 
they  will  have  little  need  to  be  made  interesting;  they  will  have 
an  inherent  interest. 

The  Appeal  to  Inteeest  and  Attention 

Principles  Governing  Interest  and  Attention. — What  are 
some  of  the  more  important  principles  that  govern  interest  and 
attention? 

(a)  Interests  vary  with  age.  The  native  interests  of  children 
awaken,  gradually  attain  their  maximum,  and  then  decline  with 
varying  degrees  of  rapidity,  some  disappearing  within  a  brief 
period,  others  persisting  for  years.  Consequently,  interests  vary 
with  age.  What  will  intensely  interest  a  beginner  may  hold  little 
interest  for  a  primary  child.  Two  children,  one  five,  the  other 
eight,  begged  their  older  sister  for  a  story.  Without  giving 
thought  to  her  choice  she  proceeded  to  tell  them  the  story  of 
"The  Three  Bears."  At  its  close  the  five-year-old  was  happy,  but 
the  eight-year-old  was  in  tears.  "I've  heard  that  old  story  too 
often.  Why  didn't  you  tell  us  a  good  story?"  she  sobbed  in  dis- 
appointment. Similarly  the  junior  will  manifest  keen  interest  in 
what  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  a  senior. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  as  childhood  is  left  behind,  and 
maturity  is  approached,  interests  change  from  the  concrete  and 
self-centered  to  the  abstract  and  the  ultimate.     Interest  is  to  a 


78  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

considerable  extent  a  matter  of  understanding  and  experience; 
there  can  be  little  interest  in  what  has  no  point  of  contact  with 
experience  or  in  that  which  the  mind  cannot  comprehend.  En- 
larging experience  brings  with  it  the  development  of  new 
interests. 

(ft)  Interest  is  concerned  with  action.  In  early  and  middle 
childhood  especially  children  are  much  more  interested  in  move- 
ment, in  what  happens  or  what  is  being  done,  than  in  the  why 
and  how  of  the  action.  The  whole  nature  of  the  child  craves 
action.  This  explains  his  ever-present  interest  in  play:  it  affords 
him  constant  and  varied  activity.  The  story  is  of  interest  to 
children  because  it  is  concrete  and  is  concerned  with  life  and 
movement.  To  devise  ways  and  means  of  participation  by  the 
child,  to  find  things  for  him  to  do  which  are  within  the  range 
of  his  understanding  and  which  seem  worthful  to  him,  is  to 
guarantee  that  he  will  have  interest  in  the  lesson. 

(c)  Interest  and  attention  require  change  and  variety.  This 
principle  is  closely  related  to  that  we  have  just  discussed. 
Variety  in  action  is  required.  Attention  comes  in  waves,  or,  as 
James  says,  "in  beats."  If  consciousness  may  be  likened  to  a 
stream,  we  may  say  that  it  presents  a  series  of  waves.  Atten- 
tion cannot  be  continuously  sustained;  it  comes  and  goes,  and 
with  each  recurrence  it  tends  to  focus  on  some  new  aspect  of 
the  subject.  If  attention  is  to  be  continuously  sustained,  the 
topic  presented  must  be  developed  in  different  ways.  The 
teacher's  problem  is  that  of  providing  variety  and  change  with- 
out wandering  from  the  main  drive  of  the  lesson. 

It  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  there  are  differences  in  the 
interests  of  individuals,  and  that  to  gain  the  interest  of  all  the 
.members  of  a  class  variety  of  appeal  must  be  used.  Variety  in 
teaching  method  in  successive  lessons  is  highly  desirable. 

(d)  Attention  may  te  gained  "by  association.  In  securing 
attention  to  what  is  not  of  immediate  interest  effective  use  may 
be  made  of  the  principle  of  association.  By  this  is  meant  asso- 
ciating that  which  does  not  in  itself  possess  immediate  interest 
with  something  in  which  such  interest  does  exist.  As  James 
points  out,  the  interest  in  one  object  spreads  over  to  the  object 
or  material  with  which  it  is  associated.  The  association  may  be 
in  terms  of  time,  of  likeness,  of  similarity  of  circumstance,  of 
common  relation  to  a  third  object,  or  in  any  of  numerous  other 
ways  that  ingenuity  may  suggest.  James  gives  in  effect  this 
statement:  Begin  with  a  native  interest  of  the  pupil.  First 
present  material  that  has  immediate  connection  with  this.   Next, 


INTEREST    AND    ATTENTION  79 

step  by  step,  connect  with  these  first  objects  and  experiences 
that  which  you  wish  to  teach.  Associate  the  new  with  the  old 
in  some  natural  and  telling  way.  The  two  associated  objects 
grow,  as  it  were,  together;  the  interesting  portion  sheds  its 
Quality  over  the  whole;  and  thus  things  not  interesting  in  their 
own  right  have  imparted  to  them  an  interest  that  becomes  as 
real  and  as  strong  as  that  used  as  the  starting  point.^ 

(e)  New  interests  may  be  developed.  It  may  readily  be  seen 
that  continued  use  of  the  last-named  principle  will  result  not 
merely  in  getting  attention  temporarily  but  eventually  in  the 
development  of  a  new  interest.  Likewise,  that  to  which  volun- 
tary attention  is  given  in  time  is  attended  to  through  spon- 
taneous attention. 

It  is  an  important  part  of  the  teacher's  task  to  use  native 
interests,  which  may  not  be  in  themselves  of  permanent  worth 
as  a  means  of  developing  new  interests  of  deep  and  abiding 
significance.  We  undertake  in  religious  education  to  develop  in 
our  pupils  deep  and  permanent  interest  in  all  that  has  real  and 
abiding  moral  and  religious  value.  This  is  not  an  easy  under- 
taking. Some  people  come  almost  without  struggle  or  effort  into 
the  possession  of  the  interests  and  ideals  that  the  Christian 
religion  declares  to  be  supreme;  by  many  others  these  come  to 
be  possessed  only  at  the  price  of  sustained  and  strenuous  effort. 
Interests  and  ideals  are  the  warp  and  woof  of  character,  and 
the  perfected  Christian  character  is  the  result  of  a  long  process 
of  development  in  which  continuous,  persistent  effort  has  a  prin- 
cipal place.  Is  this  not  the  meaning  of  the  apostle's  word 
when  he  says,  "In  conclusion,  brothers,  wherever  you  find  any- 
thing true  or  honorable,  righteous  or  pure,  lovable  or  praise- 
worthy, or  if  'virtue'  and  'honor'  have  any  meaning,  there  let 
your  thoughts  dwell"  ?^ 

The  Use  of  Incentives. — What  incentives  to  attention  and 
study  may  we  use  in  religious  teaching?  In  the  past  various 
forms  of  competition — for  prizes,  money,  medals,  books.  Bibles 
— and  the  giving  of  rewards — buttons,  badges,  emblems,  and 
participation  in  picnics  or  parties — have  been  common  in  our 
Sunday  schools.  Do  these  have  a  proper  place  in  eflacient  reli- 
gious teaching? 

The  danger  is  of  appealing  to  artificial  and  unworthy  motives.* 


*  Cf .  Talks  to  Teachers  on  Psychology,  page  94. 

*Plul.  4.  8  as  translated  in  The  Twentieth  Century  New  Testament. 

•See  Chapter  IX  for  a  fuller  discussion  of  motives. 


80  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

When  appeal  is  made  to  greed  or  rivalry,  to  a  selfish  desire  for 
possession  or  display  or  to  beat  a  fellow  pupil,  the  very  attitudes 
and  ideals  we  are  trying  to  overcome  are  nurtured,  and  those 
we  are  trying  to  develop  are  undermined.  It  is  always  to  be  re- 
membered that  we  desire  interest  and  attention  as  means  to  a 
moral  and  religious  end.  When  we  use  means  that  defeat  the 
very  end  we  are  after  we  make  a  serious  mistake.  At  best  the 
interest  developed  by  such  means  is  almost  invariably  artificial 
and  external.  The  boy  who  studies  his  lesson  as  a  means  of 
getting  a  prize  is  not  likely  thereby  to  become  interested  in  the 
lesson.  There  are  incentives  that  may  and,  in  many  cases, 
should  be  used.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  all  require  some  kind  or 
measure  of  incentive,  not  only  in  childhood  but  all  through  life. 
"There  are  multitudes  of  things  to  which  the  adult  gives  spon- 
taneous attention,  not  because  they  are  of  value  in  themselves, 
but  because  of  some  value  attached  to  them.  This  must  neces- 
sarily be  true  because  of  the  make-up  of  human  nature."^ 

The  Use  of  Problems  in  Getting  Voluntary  Attention. — 

In  recent  years  special  emphasis  has  been  placed  upon  problems 
as  means  of  inciting  to  effort  in  learning.  This  has  led  to  the 
formulation  of  what  is  known  as  the  "problem  method,"  or  the 
"project  method."  This  takes  account  of  the  fact  that  children 
have  a  native  interest  in  the  solution  of  any  problem  presented 
to  them  or  in  the  working  out  of  any  project  that  seems  im- 
portant, because  their  minds  are  naturally  alert,  curious,  and 
eager  to  know.  The  child  gives  little  voluntary  attention  or 
does  little  real  thinking  until  he  finds  himself  in  a  situation  in 
which  some  desire  or  purpose  is  thwarted.  Then  he  sets  himself 
to  discover  a  way  out  or,  we  may  say,  to  solve  the  problem  that 
confronts  him.  In  view  of  this  the  method  offers  some  problem 
to  be  solved.  While  the  project  is  somewhat  different  from  the 
problem  it  cannot  be  sharply  distinguished.  A  project  "may  be 
a  problem  or  a  part  of  a  problem  or  it  may  embrace  problems. 
The  more  good  problems  a  project  affords,  the  better  it  is  for 
educational  purposes."  The  characteristic  feature  of  the  project 
is  that  it  provides  something  to  do  or  to  investigate  in  the  doing 
or  investigation  of  which  the  knowledge  of  the  pupils  may  be 


^Psychology  of  Childhood,  Norsworthy  and  Whitley,  page  109.  These  authors  give 
the  following  suggestions  as  to  choice  of  incentives:  "(1)  Choose  those  natural  to  the 
child's  stage  of  development;  work  with  nature,  always  making  use  of  what  is  there; 
(2)  choose  those  most  natural  to  the  subject  to  which  attention  is  desired;  (3)  choose 
those  that  will  appeal  to  the  greatest  number ;  (4)  choose  those  that  are  permanent — 
that  is,  will  be  found  in  Ufe  situations  as  well  as  school  situatioua;  (5)  choose  the 
highest  that  will  work." 


INTEREST    AND    ATTENTION  81 

organized  and  new  knowledge  acquired.^  Of  all  teaching  methods 
the  project  method  offers  largest  possibilities  of  connecting  in- 
struction with  everyday  life.  During  the  years  of  urgent  need 
for  Armenian  and  Syrian  relief  the  support  of  a  Syrian  orphan 
in  Palestine  offered  a  fine  project  for  use  in  the  Sunday  school. 
Consider  some  of  the  problems  that  would  naturally  suggest 
themselves  and  the  opportunity  their  investigation  would  afford 
for  acquiring  important  information:  Where  was  our  orphan 
born?  Is  this  village  in  Palestine?  How  is  Palestine  related  to 
Syria?  How  was  it  related  in  New-Testament  times?  What 
nationality  is  our  orphan?  Is  his  nationality  the  same  as  that  of 
the  children  about  whom  we  read  in  the  New  Testament?  Why 
do  the  Jews  in  Palestine  not  have  their  own  government?  Many 
similar  questions  would  be  certain  to  arise  in  the  pupils'  minds, 
and  their  personal  interest  in  the  orphan  whom  they  are  help- 
ing to  support  would  make  them  eager  to  read  and  study  in 
seeking  to  answer  them. 

Peactical  Suggestions  on  Attention 

The  Removal  of  Distractions. — Sunday-school  teaching  fre- 
quently suffers  from  distractions  and  obstacles  to  attention  that 
are  wholly  unnecessary.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  effective 
teaching  is  impossible  in  a  class  session  continually  subject  to 
interruptions.  There  are  numerous  little  distractions  that  are 
within  the  power  of  the  teacher  to  remedy,  such  as  a  creaking 
door,  a  rattling  window,  noisy  chairs,  an  untidy  room,  an  un- 
sightly article  of  furniture,  the  passing  during  the  lesson  period 
of  the  envelope  for  the  offering,  or  the  distribution  of  the  story 
papers.  The  teacher  should  see  to  it  that  all  such  causes  of 
distraction  are  removed.  The  offering  may  be  received  at  the 
beginning  of  the  session  and  sent  to  the  treasurer's  desk.  All 
lesson  material  and  papers  for  distribution  likewise  should  be 
in  the  teacher's  hands  before  the  class  period  opens,  the  papers 
not  to  be  distributed  until  the  pupils  leave.  The  aid  of  others 
may  be  asked  in  overcoming  mechanical  obstacles  to  attention. 

The  teacher  has  a  right  to  expect  the  cooperation  of  the 
officers  of  the  school  in  securing  proper  conditions  for  teaching. 
They  should  respect  the  sacredness  of  the  lesson  period  and 
refrain  from  interrupting  it  except  in  some  special  emergency. 
The  ideal  is  a  separate  department,  a  separate  room  for  each 
department,  and  a  separate  classroom  for  each  class  above  the 
junior  grades.    Where  this  is  impossible,  portable  screens  may  be 


•  Cf.  Modern  Elementary  School  Practice,  Freeland,  page  45  ff. 


82  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

provided,  so  placed  as  in  some  measure  to  shut  out  distracting 
sights  and  sounds.  Curtains,  hung  upon  wires,  sometimes 
recommended,  are  seldom  advisable. 

Bad  ventilation,  poor  light,  a  damp  atmosphere  (very  likely 
to  bfe  found  in  a  basement  room),  a  bad  odor,  unsightly  walls 
and  ceiling,  dingy  and  dirty  floors,  overcrowding — these  are  con- 
ditions, all  too  frequent,  which  make  good  teaching  impossible. 
Under  some  conditions  it  may  be  necessary  to  bear  patiently  some 
of  these  handicaps.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to  provide 
conditions  in  which  better  work  is  possible. 

Tlie  InefPectiveness  of  Commands. — "Boys,  pay  attention!" 
is  a  command  not  infrequently  heard  in  the  Sunday  school.  At 
other  times  the  teacher  may  entreat  or  exhort  that  attention  be 
given.  These  methods  are  to  be  classed  with  the  use  of  a  bell 
or  other  external  means.  All  such  means  should  be  regarded  as 
mere  makeshifts.  Emergencies  may  arise  in  which  it  is  neces- 
sary to  compel  involuntary  attention,  but  it  should  be  clearly 
understood  that  all  such  means  attract  attention  to  the  object 
used  or  to  the  teacher  instead  of  to  the  lesson.  What  the  teacher 
really  desires  is  to  get  attention  to  what  he  is  attempting  to 
teach,  not  to  himself.  The  more  a  teacher  asks  for  attention,  the 
less  skillful  he  shows  himself  to  be. 

Tlie  Teacher's  Attention. — The  reason  for  inattention  to  the 
lesson  is  sometimes  in  the  teacher  himself.  Some  peculiarity  of 
dress  or  affectation  of  manner  may  serve  to  distract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  pupils.  A  personal  antagonism,  real  or  fancied,  or 
apparent  slight  serves  as  a  serious  barrier. 

An  inattentive  teacher  cannot  expect  to  have  an  attentive 
class.  The  standard  is  set  and  sustained  by  the  teacher.  Is 
there  any  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of  the  teacher?  Does  the 
teacher's  attitude  indicate  that  he  considers  the  lesson  something 
less  than  vitally  important?  If  so,  he  cannot  expect  to  have  an 
interested  and  attentive  class.  Interest  is  contagious.  Genuine 
enthusiasm  is  certain  to  have  its  influence.  Sham  or  pretense  is 
quickly  detected.  If  genuine  conviction,  thorough  interest,  and 
profound  faith  in  the  truth  are  indicated  by  diligent  lesson 
preparation,  by  enthusiasm  for  his  task  of  teaching,  and  by 
earnestness  and  skillfulness  in  presentation,  these  qualities  will 
go  far  toward  securing  and  holding  the  interest  and  attention  of 
the  pupils. 

Tlie  Training  of  Attention.— It  is  a  part  of  the  teacher's 


INTEREST    AND   ATTENTION  83 

responsibility  to  develop  habits  of  voluntary  attention  in  his 
pupils.  It  is  a  mistake  to  assume  that  the  doctrine  of  interest 
means  that  the  pupil  shall  give  attention  only  to  those  things 
in  which  he  finds  pleasure  and  satisfaction.  It  is  possible  for 
emphasis  upon  interest  to  be  thus  misdirected,  and  without 
doubt  some  teachers  fall  into  the  error  of  expecting  from  their 
pupils  only  that  effort  which  is  pleasurable. 

Not  infrequently  lack  of  capacity  or  limited  experience  will 
explain  absence  of  interest  in  materials  of  unquestionable  value. 
Often  instinctive  desires  will  interfere  with  the  giving  of  atten- 
tion to  material  that  satisfies  more  remote  and  ideal  needs. 
There  will  be  times  when  ideas  and  ideals  of  the  highest  value, 
which  cannot  be  associated  with  immediate  interests,  should  be 
acquired.  Because  of  these  facts  it  becomes  a  part  of  the 
teacher's  task  to  train  his  pupils  in  voluntary  attention.  Most 
pupils  can  be  led  to  do  that  which  is  difficult  and  not  in  itself 
pleasant  if  they  are  persuaded  that  it  will  result  in  the  ultimate 
enrichment  of  their  lives. 

Constructive  Task 

1.  Observe  the  teaching  in  a  class  where  the  pupils  seem  to  be 
interested  and  attentive.  Write  the  reasons  why,  in  your  opinion, 
the  teacher  is  able  to  hold  the  attention  so  well. 

2.  Make  an  observation  in  a  class  where  the  pupils  seem  to 
have  little  interest.  Write  what  you  think  to  be  some  of  the 
reasons. 

3.  Talk  with  the  most  uninterested  Sunday-school  pupil  with 
whom  you  are  on  intimate  terms  with  the  idea  of  learning  from 
him  why  the  teaching  does  not  interest  him. 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 
In  ''The  Worker  and  WorW  series 

1.  The  necessity  of  having  interest  and  attention:   The  Inter- 
mediate Worker  and  Work,  page  60ff. 

In  the  library 

1.  How  to  gain  attention:  The  Psychological  Principles  of  Edu- 
cation, Home,  Chapter  XXVIII. 

2.  Interest:  Talks  to  Teachers,  James,  Chapters  X,  XI. 

3.  Attention:  Talks  to  Teachers,  James,  Chapter  XI. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  USE   OF  MOTIVES 

Lack  of  interest  in  the  Sunday  school  on  the  part  of  its  pupils 
is  proverbial.  This  lack  of  interest  is  shown  in  many  ways. 
One  item  of  evidence  is  low  average  attendance.  There  are  many 
Sunday  schools  in  which  the  average  attendance  is  less  than 
50  per  cent  of  the  enrollment.  In  a  large  proportion  of  schools 
it  is  approximately  60  per  cent.  A  second  item  is  the  large 
number  of  pupils  lost  to  the  Sunday  school  in  their  early  and 
middle  teens.  This  number  is  distressingly  large.  Some 
Sunday  schools  do  not  succeed  in  holding  more  than  one  third 
of  the  boys  and  girls  whom  they  have  had  as  members  during 
childhood.  Still  another  item  is  the  general  neglect  of  lesson 
study.  Whenever  teachers  come  together  in  an  institute  or  con- 
ference, one  of  the  questions  certain  to  be  asked  is  "How  can  I 
get  my  pupils  to  study  their  lessons?" 

Various  explanations  of  the  lack  of  interest  of  Sunday-school 
pupils  may  be  offered.  One  of  the  most  important  of  the  real 
reasons  has  not  often  been  discussed:  Teachers  have  not  known 
to  what  motives  to  appeal  to  awaken  interest.  They  have  not 
known  how  to  teach  in  ways  that  make  pupils  want  to  attend 
Sunday  school.  The  fact  that  boys  and  girls  are  not  interested 
in  the  Sunday  school  is  more  the  fault  of  the  school  than  of  its 
pupils.  Yet  how  little  study  and  effort  have  been  invested  in  a 
deliberate  attempt  to  make  the  Sunday  school  interesting  to  its 
pupils!  It  is  time  we  began  seriously  to  study  the  problem  of 
effectively  motivating  our  Sunday-school  work. 

Motives  and  Motivation 

What  Motives  Arc— First,  it  is  important  to  get  a  clear  idea 
of  what  the  word  means.  It  may  be  said  that  a  motive  is  that 
which  moves;  that  which  incites  to  action.  This  tells  us  what 
motives  do  but  it  does  not  give  us  an  insight  into  what  motives 
are.  "A  motive,"  says  Coe,  "is  anything  in  a  contemplated,  not 
yet  actualized  situation,  that  renders  it  attractive  and  thus  stimu- 
lates us  to  make  it  actual."    Another  statement  is:  "A  motive  is 

84 


THE    USE    OF   MOTIVES  85 

the  sum  of  one's  judgment  and  feeling  as  to  the  meaning  and 
values  in  a  situation.  It  is  the  sense  of  duty  or  desire  which 
indorses  or  prohibits  an  action."^ 

In  common  usage  the  word  "motive"  has  come  to  be  applied  to 
anything  that  may  be  used  as  an  incentive.  Freeland  points  out 
that  this  usage  tends  to  limit  the  word  to  that  which  is  only  of 
immediate  interest  and  attractiveness.  He  says:  "The  only 
danger  in  such  usage  is  found  in  the  tending  to  ignore  the  more 
fundamental  purposive  motives  which  underlie  all  school  work 
and  to  assume  that  the  child's  endeavor  means  nothing  to  him 
beyond  the  attainment  of  some  specific,  immediate  goal.  In  all 
school  work  there  should  be  as  much  immediate  pleasure  as  it  is 
possible  to  bring  about,  and  motivation  has  been  a  large  factor 
in  making  school  tasks  less  irksome  to  children.  But  there 
should  also  be  definite  reasons  in  the  child's  mind  for  doing  his 
school  work  well  even  when  there  is  no  immediate  motive  for  it. 
He  should  learn  to  work  for  the  more  remote  motives  as  well."^ 

The  Process  of  Motivation. — By  motivation  we  mean  the 
process  of  stimulating  and  developing  motives.  Merely  telling 
the  pupil  has  little  effect  either  in  inciting  to  study  an  assigned 
lesson  or  in  leading  to  right  conduct.  Some  influential  motive 
for  study,  for  moral  action,  must  be  present.  Motivation  is  the 
process  of  increasing  a  motive  or  motives  already  present  or  of 
finding  and  developing  motives  where  none  exists. 

(a)  Motives  root  in  instinct.  As  we  have  seen  again  and 
again,  the  inciting  causes  of  action  in  early  childhood  and,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  later  are  the  instincts  and  impulses  that  are 
a  part  of  our  original  capital  in  life.  These  original  impulses, 
as  they  are  molded  and  developed,  supplemented  and  replaced, 
through  nurture  and  growth,  furnish  very  much  of  the  motive 
power  of  all  action  and  conduct  throughout  life.  Practically  all 
motives  may  be  said  to  have  their  origin  in  instinct.  While 
motive  roots  in  instinct  it  is  something  more  than  an  instinctive 
impulse. 

(J))  Motives  root  in  interest.  The  surest  guarantee  of  atten- 
tion, as  we  have  seen,  is  a  genuine  interest.  If  pupils  have 
an  interest  in  the  assigned  task  they  will  do  their  home  work; 
if  they  are  interested  in  the  Sunday  school,  its  sessions,  and  its 
activities,  they  will  attend  regularly.  "Interest,"  says  McMurry, 
"is  motive  power,  and  it  is  as  necessary  to  provide  for  it  in 


^Religious  Education  in  the  Church,  Cope,  page  33. 
^Modern  Elementary  School  Practice,  page  8. 


g6  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

school  work  as  it  is  to  provide  steam  in  manufacturing.**  In- 
terest, as  well  as  instinct,  is  basic  in  motivation. 

(c)  Motives  root  in  satisfaction.  We  respond  instinctively 
to  that  which  gives  us  satisfaction — that  is,  a  motive  may  be 
said  to  be  that  which  leads  one  to  seek  pleasure  or  satisfaction. 
The  satisfaction  may  range  all  the  way  from  the  merely  physical 
satisfaction  of  eating  when  hungry  to  the  high  satisfaction  that 
follows  an  act  of  real  sacrifice  for  the  welfare  of  another.  A 
child  of  four  can  hardly  be  expected  to  experience  satisfaction  in 
giving  his  apple  to  a  less  fortunate  child  who  has  had  no  break- 
fast, although  he  may  be  persuaded  to  do  so,  but  a  Christian 
man  should  be  able  to  find  real  satisfaction  in  going  without  his 
dinner,  if  necessary,  to  minister  to  a  fellow  man  who  is  suffering 
from  want.  What  gives  satisfaction  depends  on  age  and  ex- 
perience and  previous  teaching. 

Motivation  has  to  do  with  the  instincts,  with  interests,  and 
with  the  things  that  are  satisfying.  The  teacher  must  appeal  to 
instinctive  impulses  but  not  depend  on  them  alone;  he  must 
appeal  also  to  the  native  and  acquired  interests,  meanwhile  seek- 
ing to  develop  the  sense  of  the  higher  and  more  ideal  moral  and 
spiritual  needs. 

"Motivation,"  says  Galloway,  "consists  not  in  diminishing  the 
task  but  in  increasing  the  motives  for  performing  the  task  and 
the  satisfaction  in  the  result.  It  does  not  mean  to  make  tasks 
more  easy  but  to  make  them  more  appealing.  We  must  select 
tasks  that  appeal  to  present  motives  and  develop  motives  that 
will  meet  necessary  tasks."^ 

MOTIVATINQ  OUB  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

To  what  motives  may  we  appeal  in  our  Sunday-school  work? 
Our  analysis  of  motive  has  prepared  us  to  realize  that  we  will 
be  helped  in  answering  this  question  by  such  other  questions 
as  these:  What  are  the  instincts  to  which  we  may  appeal  in 
moral  and  religious  teaching?  What  are  the  dominant  interests 
of  our  pupils,  and  how  may  we  connect  up  with  these  interests? 


1  TfLe  Use  of  Motives  in  Teaching  Morals  and  Religion,  page  60.  Consider  also  the 
following  statement  by  the  same  author:  "  The  essential  work  of  the  teacher  in 
motivation  is  to  devise  ways  to  make  work,  which  is  really  worth  while  in  ways  the 
pupU  cannot  realize,  seem  worth  while  to  the  child  from  his  present  point  of  view,  in 
order  that  his  powers  may  be  fully  enlisted.  This  is  more  than  the  'doctrine  of  inter- 
est,' more  than  getting  the  'point  of  contact'  in  teaching,  more  than  gradmg  lessons  to 
the  intellectual  capabilities  of  the  pupil — though  it  certainly  involves  all  of  those 
things.  It  is  grading  the  whole  process  to  the  emotional  and  instinctive  development 
of  the  child."  (Article  "The  Appeal  to  Motives  in  Moral  and  Religious  Education," 
in  The  Encyclopedia  of  Sunday  Schools,  volume  II,  page  ^05.) 


THE   USE    OF   MOTIVES  87 

What  are  the  things  of  moral  and  religious  significance  that 
give  them  satisfaction?  These  are  the  questions  that  every 
Sunday-school  teacher  must  be  continually  asking  himself  in  his 
endeavor  so  to  motivate  his  work  as  to  make  it  compelling  in  its 
hold  upon  his  pupils. 

The  Problem  of  Subject  Matter. — These  questions  lead 
directly  into  the  problem  of  subject  matter,  or  courses  of  in- 
struction. This  problem  is  sometimes  treated  as  if  it  were  a 
perfectly  simple  one.  Perhaps  an  offhand  remark  is  made  to  the 
effect  that  if  the  lessons  are  what  they  ought  to  be,  children  will 
be  interested  in  them,  and  the  whole  problem  will  be  solved.  But 
the  matter  cannot  be  thus  easily  dismissed.  It  should  be  frankly 
stated  that  often  Sunday  schools  have  attempted  to  use  lessons  in 
which  it  is  impossible  to  interest  children.  The  uniform  lessons, 
planned  without  consideration  of  the  differing  interests  and 
needs  of  pupils  of  the  various  grades,  have  made  successful 
Sunday-school  work  vastly  more  difficult  than  if  graded  lessons, 
presenting  material  for  each  grade  that  has  been  selected  because 
it  is  believed  to  appeal  to  the  interests  and  meet  the  needs  of 
the  pupils,  had  been  used.  It  is  of  first  importance  in  the  moti- 
vation of  Sunday-school  work  to  use  the  best  available  graded 
courses.  It  should  not  be  thought,  however,  that  when  this  has 
been  done,  the  problem  of  motivation  has  been  wholly  solved. 
Properly  selected  lessons  are  a  step  in  the  direction  of  solution 
but  they  do  not  go  the  whole  way. 

Children  do  not  always  know  what  they  need.  Their  insight 
into  what  is  good  for  them  is  often  keener  than  adults  are  ready 
to  acknowledge,  but  in  many  instances  it  is  important  for  the 
teacher  to  take  pains  to  explain  to  the  pupils  why  the  lessons 
offered  are  needed  and  what  are  the  values  that  grow  out  of 
them.  The  idea  that  children  should  be  expected  to  take  an 
interest  in  lessons  chosen  for  them  by  others,  without  any 
explanation  of  why  they  are  offered,  is  unreasonable.  Children 
have  the  same  love  of  freedom  as  adults  possess  and  they  have 
at  least  some  rights  that  should  be  recognized.  Whenever  a  new 
course  is  begun  it  should  be  so  presented  that  the  pupils  will 
feel  that  they  have  had  some  part  in  its  selection.  In  middle 
and  later  adolescence,  where  alternative  courses  are  available, 
the  various  possibilities  should  be  freely  discussed,  the  values 
of  each  carefully  considered,  and  the  pupils  given  a  part — 
usually  the  major  part — in  reaching  a  decision.  The  teacher  of 
these  grades  should  always  bear  in  mind  that  it  takes  much  of 


8S  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

the  satisfaction  out  of  the  best  course  to  be  robbed  of  the  privi- 
lege of  choosing  it. 

Flays  and  Games. — In  the  public  schools,  more  especially  in 
the  kindergarten,  a  very  large  use  is  being  made  of  children's 
interest  in  play.  The  kindergarten  has  sometimes  been  called  a 
play  school,  and  much  the  larger  part  of  its  work  is  motivated 
by  giving  it  the  form  of  play.  In  the  upper  grammar  grades  in 
the  study  of  geography,  for  example,  instead  of  requiring  the 
pupils  to  memorize  lists  of  names,  locations,  descriptions,  and 
products,  a  travel  party  is  organized  to  visit  some  far  country. 
The  entire  journey  is  carried  out  as  a  realistic  game.  The  pupils 
read  widely,  study  assigned  textbooks,  and  prepare  written  re- 
ports; but  it  is  all  done  as  a  part  of  the  game,  and  a  high 
degree  of  interest  is  maintained  throughout  the  process.  The 
same  principle  may  be  used  in  Sunday-school  work.  The 
geography  of  Palestine  and  the  travels  of  Paul  should  become 
familiar  ground  to  junior  boys  and  girls,  and  there  is  no  other 
way  of  accomplishing  this  result  with  so  little  effort  as  through 
the  use  of  travel  games.  With  older  boys  and  girls  the  prin- 
ciple may  be  used  in  modified  form.  For  example,  in  teaching 
the  lesson  on  Paul  in  Antioch  (Acts  13.  13-52)  to  a  class  of 
boys  one  was  asked  to  take  the  part  of  Paul,  another  that  of 
Barnabas;  others  represented  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue,  and 
still  others  Gentiles.  The  teacher  said:  "How  would  you,  Paul 
and  Barnabas,  begin  your  work  in  Antioch  in  order  to  win  Jews 
and  Gentiles  to  Christianity?  What  would  you  say  to  the  Jews? 
to  the  Gentiles?  What  questions  would  you  Jews,  believers  in 
the  Old  Testament,  ask  of  Paul  and  Barnabas?  What  questions 
would  you  Gentiles  have  to  ask?"  The  boys  were  made  to  feel 
that  this  was  an  assignment  that  was  a  real  test.  They  entered 
into  the  spirit  of  it,  and  the  session  was  a  live  one.  When  they 
had  talked  themselves  out,  the  teacher  led  them  in  an  examina- 
tion of  Paul's  method  and  message. 

The  Desire  for  Possession. — How  often  in  observing  a  little 
child  have  we  seen  the  desire  for  possession  forcibly  expressed! 
It  is  the  same  impulse  that  leads  the  millionaire  to  reach  out 
aggressively  to  add  to  his  already  overlarge  store.  The  child 
exclaims,  "They  are  my  blocks!"  and  the  millionaire  talks  about 
''my  factory."  The  instinct  of  ownership,  the  tendency  to  have 
and  to  hold,  is  one  of  the  earliest,  most  persistent,  and  most 
compelling  of  all  the  instincts.  Can  it  be  made  use  of  in  moral 
and  religious  education?    It  is  to  be  recognized  as  more  or  less 


THE    USE    OF    MOTIVES  89 

in  opposition  to  certain  social  qualities  and  attributes  that  it  is 
one  of  our  main  objects  to  develop — kindliness,  sympathy,  and 
the  willingness  and  desire  to  share  with  others.  It  is  also  true 
that  capacity  for  service  depends  on  one's  personal  possessions — 
not  so  much  material  possessions  as  intellectual  and  spiritual. 
Unless  one  has  possessions  worth  while,  there  is  little  that  he 
can  impart  to  others.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  there  is  a 
place  in  our  work  for  appeal  to  the  instinct  that  finds  expression 
in  the  desire  for  possession.  "It  is,"  say  Norsworthy  and 
Whitley,  "a  perfectly  legitimate  motive  and  a  valuable  source  of 
power.  True,  an  adjustment  is  necessary  between  this  nonsocial 
and  sometimes  antisocial  tendency  and  the  social  tendencies;  but 
this  adjustment  comes  only  through  much  experience  and  teach- 
ing. Modifications  of  the  first  crude  tendency  come  about  as  the 
child  claims  possessions  of  greater  and  greater  value,  from  the 
physical  and  material  to  the  spiritual,  and  as  he  learns  that 
possessions  in  common  are  often  worth  more  than  those  purely 
individual."* 

The  teacher's  effort  should  be  to  widen  the  desire  for  posses- 
sion to  include  information  and  knowledge  of  religious  worth, 
principles  and  ideals,  character  and  personal  religion.  Gradu- 
ally pupils  may  be  brought  to  realize  that  material  possessions 
are  inferior  to  spiritual,  and  to  desire  the  truer  riches. 

The  desire  to  know  is  closely  related  to  the  instinct  of  owner- 
ship. It  is  so  general  as  to  be  said  to  be  almost  universal. 
Allied  to  it  is  the  curiosity  so  commonly  manifested  in  children. 
Both  are  shown  by  the  tendency  of  children  continually  to  ask 
questions.  Genuine  satisfaction  results  from  the  realization  of 
learning.  The  Sunday-school  teacher  as  well  as  the  day-school 
teacher  may  appeal  to  the  desire  for  knowledge.  It  is  his  task, 
while  satisfying  this  desire,  at  the  same  time  to  lead  his  pupils 
to  feel  that  there  is  more  to  be  learned,  that  there  is  a  wealth 
of  spiritual  knowledge  to  be  acquired  only  by  those  who  are 
diligent  seekers  after  the  truth.  This  is  a  mark  of  genius  In 
the  real  teacher.  "He  always  made  us  feel,"  said  his  pupils  of  a 
great  teacher,  "that  there  was  greater  knowledge  yet  to  be 
attained." 

The  Desire  for  Advancement  and  Promotion. — The  impulse 
to  go  forward,  to  get  on  with  the  thing  in  hand,  is  strong  with 
most  children.    It  is  allied  to  the  impulse  of  leadership.    These 


^Psychology  of  Childhood,  page  54. 


90  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

impulses  can  be  used  to  motivate  regular  attendance  and  lesson 
preparation.  This  is  especially  true  in  schools  that  have  well- 
planned  systems  of  promotion  from  grade  to  grade  and  from 
department  to  department.  In  the  public  school  the  desire  to  be 
promoted  and  later  to  be  graduated  is  one  of  the  strong  motives 
actuating  many  of  the  pupils  in  diligent  study.  Side  by  side  with 
this  exists  the  fear  of  failure.  These  cannot  be  used  in  the 
Sunday  school  to  the  same  extent  as  in  public-school  work,  but 
they  have  a  certain  value  that  should  be  recognized. 

Love,  Sympathy,  and  Understanding. — There  are  no  chil- 
dren anywhere  but  will  respond  to  love  and  personal  interest. 
The  teacher  of  little  children  who  has  a  real  love  for  them  and 
the  teacher  of  teen-age  boys  or  girls  who  has  a  deep  and  genuine 
interest  in  them  possess  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of 
motivating  their  Sunday-school  work.  It  is  the  natural  and 
normal  thing  for  children  to  love  their  teachers,  and  love  has 
wonderful  power  to  motivate  tasks  that  would  otherwise  be  dis- 
tasteful and  dull.  Every  Sunday-school  teacher  again  and  again 
should  bring  himself  to  this  test:  Is  my  personal  attitude  to  my 
pupils  all  that  it  ought  to  be?  Am  I  genuinely  interested  in 
them?    Do  I  bear  their  welfare  upon  my  heart? 

Little  children  expect  to  see  evidences  of  affection  in  their 
teachers.  Their  hearts  hunger  for  love,  and  they  are  ever  ready 
to  respond  to  it.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  teacher  who 
is  less  than  affectionately  devoted  to  her  beginners  or  primary 
children  can  fittingly  represent  to  them  the  loving  heavenly 
Father  or  the  Christ  who  was  known  as  the  Friend  of  little  chil- 
dren. 

The  statements  of  teen-age  pupils  concerning  the  qualities 
they  most  desire  in  their  teachers  unconsciously  reveal  what  in 
the  teacher  most  influences  them.  Most  frequent  in  these  state- 
ments are  personal  interest,  understanding,  sympathy,  and  con- 
fidence. Anyone  who  has  been  intimately  associated  with  boys 
and  girls  can  bear  witness  that  what  they  refer  to  in  conversa- 
tion are  the  evidences  they  have  had  of  the  teacher's  regard  for 
them.  One  has  received  some  word  of  commendation,  another  a 
personal  note,  a  third  has  had  a  bit  of  conversation  or  a  chance 
meeting.  That  is,  they  realize  that  the  teacher  believes  in  them, 
in  their  ability  to  achieve  and  to  make  something  of  themselves, 
and  they  respond  to  this  confidence  and  interest. 

Unresponsiveness,  on  the  other  hand,  may  often  be  accounted 
for  by  a  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  that  the  teacher  has  no 


THE    USE    OF   MOTIVES  91 

personal  interest  in  him.  There  is  danger  of  this  hardening  into 
a  conviction  of  incapacity  in  which  the  pupil  imposes  an  inhibi- 
tion upon  himself  that  effectively  prevents  achievement.  Pupils 
who  have  a  high  personal  regard  for  their  teachers  will  natu- 
rally desire  to  do  the  things  that  will  please  them.  Studying  a 
lesson  or  doing  some  other  assigned  task  "to  please  the  teacher" 
has  sometimes  been  referred  to  as  less  than  a  high  and  worthy 
motive.  It  cannot  be  so  considered  in  religious  education.  The 
religious  teacher,  as  we  have  stated  before,  stands  before  the 
pupil  in  a  representative  capacity.  If  his  spirit  and  character 
are  what  they  ought  to  be,  the  pupil  will  have  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  a  conscious  realization  of  ihis  fact.  To  do  what  one 
ought  to  do  that  one  may  thereby  please  the  heavenly  Father  is 
a  high  and  noble  motive.  We  recall  Jesus'  word:  "I  do  always 
the  things  that  are  pleasing  to  him"  (John  8.  29);  and  again: 
"My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  accom- 
plish his  work"  (John  4.  84).  The  teacher  who  has  a  sincere 
Christian  love  for  his  pupils  and  who  leads  them  to  realize,  as 
he  ought  readily  to  be  able  to  do,  that  his  regard  for  them  and 
interest  in  them  is  only  a  faint  reflection  of  the  Father's  love, 
and  who  thus  awakens  in  their  hearts  the  motive  that  actuated 
the  Master,  has  succeeded  in  the  highest  sense  in  the  motivation 
of  Sunday-school  work. 

Social  Instincts. — In  discussing  love  as  a  motive  we  turned 
away  from  the  more  individualistic  tendencies  to  the  social  in- 
stincts. What  are  some  of  the  other  social  instincts  to  which 
we  may  appeal?  Would  you  say  that  there  is  an  instinct  in 
human  nature  to  make  others  happy?  Is  it  a  source  of  satis- 
faction to  children  to  relieve  cold  and  hunger  and  pain?  What, 
other  than  love,  are  some  of  the  social  tendencies  manifest  in 
our  pupils?  How  may  appeal  be  made  to  these  tendencies?  Let 
us  keep  these  questions  in  mind.  We  will  return  to  them  in  a 
later  chapter.^ 

We  have  made  only  a  beginning  in  seeking  to  answer  the 
questions  with  which  we  started  out  in  our  discussion.  We 
trust  enough  has  been  said,  however,  to  make  it  clear  that  there 
is  an  abundant  fund  of  energy  in  the  original  instincts  and  in- 
terests of  our  pupils  to  motivate  effectively  their  Sunday-school 
work.  Our  mistake  in  the  past  has  been  very  largely  that  of 
appealing  to  adult  motives.     Forgetting  that  we  were  dealing 


iSee  Chapter  XIL 


92  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

with  immature  minds,  we  have  sought  to  make  appeal  to  ideal 
motives  that  we  might  reasonably  expect  to  be  dynamic  only  in 
those  who  are  intellectually,  morally,  and  religiously  mature. 
That  is,  we  have  used  appeals  that  in  their  very  nature  could 
not  be  effective  because  of  the  pupils'  limitations  in  knowledge, 
experience,  and  moral  and  religious  development. 


Artificial  Motivation 

There  are  various  forms  of  motivation  not  yet  mentioned  that 
have  had  more  or  less  place  in  Sunday-school  work  in  the  past. 

Frizes  and  Rewards. — Formerly  prizes  were  given  by  many 
schools  for  regular  attendance,  for  the  recitation  of  a  certain 
number  of  memory  texts,  and  for  the  bringing  of  the  largest 
number  of  new  pupils.  This  custom  has  fallen  into  disuse.  It 
is  still  common  for  pins,  emblems,  and  presents  at  Christmas  to 
be  given  for  record  attendance  and  lesson  study.  Undoubtedly 
if  the  reward  is  something  that  seems  of  value  to  the  pupil,  a 
powerful  motive  is  created.  The  question  is  whether  the  motive 
is  one  that  has  a  legitimate  place  in  moral  and  religious  educa- 
tion. //  there  is  only  one,  or  a  limited  num'ber  of  awards,  appeal 
is  made  to  rivalry,  greed,  and  other  selfish  attitudes  which  it  is 
the  very  object  of  religious  teaching  to  overcome.  Thus,  while 
certain  desirable  ends  are  secured,  other  higher  ends  are 
defeated.  It  is  of  little  value  to  have  a  boy  in  Sunday  school  if 
the  very  thing  that  brings  him  is  developing  in  him  an  un- 
christian attitude.  It  is  ever  to  be  remembered  that  the  building 
of  Christian  character,  not  the  giving  of  information,  is  our 
purpose.  A  well-known  modern  writer  on  public-school  problems 
says  in  a  recent  book,  "Better  use  rewards  and  secure  some 
results  in  knowledge  than  to  fail  utterly  in  teaching."  This  does 
not  hold  for  religious  education.  If  rewards  stimulate  un- 
christian attitudes,  we  obtain  results  in  knowledge  at  the  cost 
of  moral  and  religious  failure. 

Awards  Open  to  All  Pupils. — The  objection  just  stated  does 
not  hold  against  the  use  of  honors  and  awards  open  to  all.  A 
minimum  standard  may  be  agreed  upon  in  lesson  study,  Bible 
reading,  memorization,  and  written  work,  all  who  attain  to  this 
standard  to  be  given  special  recognition  on  promotion  day  or  at 
quarterly  intervals.  Awards  may  also  be  given  for  regular 
attendance  and  for  punctuality,  for  systematic  giving  and  church 
attendance.     The  appeal  of  awards  and  honors  to  most  children 


THE    USE    OF   MOTIVES  93 

is  considerable,  and  such  incentives  have  a  valid  place  in  reli- 
gious education.  At  the  same  time  it  should  be  realized  that  it 
is  much  better  to  make  the  school  itself  so  interesting  and  helpful 
to  the  pupils  that  no  artificial  motivation  will  be  necessary. 

The  Pboblem  That  Remains 

When  all  has  been  said  on  ways  and  means  of  motivation  that 
may  be  said — and  that,  of  course,  is  much  more  than  the  limita- 
tions of  so  brief  a  discussion  as  this  allows — there  will  still 
remain  for  every  Sunday-school  teacher  a  group  of  particular 
problems  concerning  how  to  motivate  the  work  for  the  various 
members  of  his  class.  After  all  has  been  said,  the  prohJem  of 
motivation  is  very  largely  a  prollem  of  individual  pupils. 

When  a  teacher  talked  with  a  certain  mother  concerning  how 
the  interest  of  her  ten-year-old  boy  might  be  stimulated,  the 
mother  said:  "I  have  yet  to  find  the  first  thing  in  which  William 
manifests  any  special  interest."  William  is  typical  of  many — 
the  large  number  of  people  who,  without  ambition  or  deep  in- 
terest, drift  aimlessly  through  life.  Every  such  pupil  presents 
a  problem  in  himself.  The  only  way  to  solve  the  problem  is  for 
the  teacher  to  give  himself  to  a  thorough,  intense  study  of  that 
particular  pupil,  seeking  to  discover  the  hidden  clue,  the  deep 
root  of  interest  that  surely  exists. 

Finally,  let  it  be  said  that  in  no  small  degree  motivation  is  a 
matter  of  contagion.  If  the  teacher  is  deeply  interested  in  what 
he  is  teaching,  if  religion  is  to  him  the  most  vital,  valuable, 
interesting  thing  in  the  world,  his  pupils  will  come  to  share  his 
interest.  "Miss  Blanchard  is  so  interested  in  the  subject  and 
tries  so  hard  to  teach  us,"  said  a  twelve-year-old,  "that  I  would 
be  ashamed  not  to  study  my  lesson." 

CONSTBUCTIVE    TaSK 

1.  Recall  your  own  experience  as  a  Sunday-school  pupil:  What 
motives  were  most  influential  in  interesting  you  in  the  Sunday 
school?  Can  you  suggest  other  motives  to  which  appeal  might 
have  been  made? 

2.  Talk  with  one  or  two  pupils  who  are  thoroughly  interested 
in  their  Sunday-school  work,  seeking  to  discover  the  motives  that 
are  most  influential  with  them. 

3.  Talk  with  two  or  more  successful  teachers:  To  what  motives 
do  they  chiefly  appeal  in  developing  an  interest  in  the  school? 


94  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 
In  "The  Worker  and  Work"  series 

1.  Motives  normal  to  juniors:   The  Junior  Worker  and  Work, 

pages  100-104. 

I7i  the  library 

1.  The  meaning  of  motivation:  The  Motivation  of  School  Work, 
Wilson,  Chapter  II. 

2.  Motivation  in  Sunday-school  teaching:   The  Use  of  Motives 
in  Teaching  Morals  and  Religion,  Galloway,  Chapter  V. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  CULTIVATION  OF  RELIGIOUS  FEELING 

Among  the  thousands  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  battle  of  Vimy 
Ridge  was  Captain  V.  G.  Tupper,  of  the  Canadian  Scottish  Six- 
teenth Battalion.  A  letter  written  before  the  battle  to  his  father 
was  later  made  public.  It  was  what  the  boys  were  in  the  habit 
of  calling  an  "in  case"  letter — that  is,  a  letter  to  be  mailed  only 
in  case  of  death.    We  quote  in  part: 

"I  hope  you  will  never  have  to  read  [this  letter].  If  you  are 
reading  it  now  you  will  know  that  your  youngest  son  'went 
under'  as  proud  as  Punch  in  the  most  glorious  day  of  his  life. 
I  am  taking  my  company  'over  the  top'  for  a  mile  in  the  biggest 
push  that  has  ever  been  launched  in  the  world  and  I  trust  that 
it  is  going  to  be  the  greatest  factor  toward  peace. 

"Dad,  you  can't  imagine  the  wonderful  feeling.  A  man  thinks 
something  like  this:  'Well,  if  I  am  going  to  die,  this  is  worth  it 
a  thousand  times.* 

"I  don't  want  any  of  you  dear  people  to  be  sorry  for  me, 
although,  of  course,  you  will  in  a  way.  You  will  miss  me,  but 
you  will  be  proud  of  me.  .  .  . 

"Good-by,  dear  father  and  mother,  and  all  of  you.  Again  I  say 
that  I  am  proud  to  be  where  I  am  now." 

What  a  study  in  emotion  this  letter  presents!  What  a  wonder- 
ful illustration  it  is  of  the  power  of  feeling  to  inspire  courage 
and  the  spirit  of  exaltation  and  heroic  sacrifice  in  a  noble  cause! 

The  Primacy  of  Feeling 

We  find  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  define  what  we  mean  by  the 
feelings.  This  is  in  part  because  the  feelings  are  far  more  subtle 
and  illusive  than  ideas  or  action.  We  know  that  the  word  stands 
for  the  deepest  element  in  human  life;  that  life  rests  upon  and 
is  very  largely  determined  by  feeling.  We  know  that  feeling, 
more  than  intellect  or  reason  and  equally,  at  least,  with  volition, 
rules  the  world.  We  know  that  feeling  is  an  ever-present  element 
in  life;  that,  indeed,  it  is  coincident  with  consciousness;  and 
that  without  feeling,  if  consciousness  could  exist  at  all,  it  would 
be  neither  attractive  nor  satisfying.  We  realize  also  some- 
thing  of  the   large   place   that   feeling   has   in   our   own  live'?. 


96  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

Though  we  cannot  frame  a  satisfactory  definition  we  are  con- 
scious of  having  experienced  joy  and  sorrow;  confidence  and 
anxiety;  assurance  and  surprise;  good  will  and  jealousy;  love 
and  hate;  gratitude  and  anger;  hope  and  discouragement; 
courage  and  fear;  faith  and  doubt;  and  almost  countless  other 
feelings  and  emotions. 

There  is  a  wide  range  in  what  we  are  accustomed  to  speak  of 
as  feeling,  extending  all  the  way  from  the  mere  physical  sensa- 
tions of  cold  and  hunger  to  the  spiritual  emotions  of  wonder, 
awe,  and  adoration.  It  is  in  this  broad  sense,  in  which  it  covers 
the  entire  affective  life,  including  the  emotions  and  the  senti- 
ments, that  we  use  the  term  "feeling"  in  this  discussion. 

The  Service  of  Feeling  to  Religion 

The  eminent  service  that  feeling  and  emotion  may  render  the 
moral  and  religious  life  may  be  realized  by  weighing  such  con- 
siderations as  these: 

Feeling  Gives  a  Sense  of  Worth. — Or,  to  put  it  differently, 
the  sense  of  value  or  of  importance  that  we  attach  to  anything 
is  a  feeling.  "What  seems  worth  while  to  us  depends  quite  as 
much  on  the  attitude  of  our  feelings  as  anything  else.  Says 
Royce:  "If  we  look  for  a  simpler  criterion  of  what  we  mean  by 
feeling,  it  seems  worth  while  to  point  out  that  by  feeling  we 
mean  simply  our  present  sensitiveness  to  the  value  of  things  in 
so  far  as  these  values  are  directly  present  to  consciousness." 

The  significance  of  this  is  immediately  apparent  when  we  con- 
sider the  relation  between  our  sense  of  values  and  character. 
What  one  loves  most  determines  what  kind  of  a  man  one  is. 
What  one  sets  his  heart  upon  determines  what  one  will  become. 

Feeling  Creates  Ideals. — "The  development  of  an  ideal  is 
both  an  emotional  and  an  intellectual  process,"  says  Bagley,  "but 
the  emotional  element  is  by  far  the  more  important.  Ideals  that 
lack  the  emotional  coloring  are  simply  intellectual  propositions 
and  have  little  directive  force  upon  conduct."* 

Our  work  of  religious  education  is  in  no  slight  degree  that  of 
creating  ideals.  We  have  to  develop  a  love  for  God  as  heavenly 
Father  and  for  Jesus  Christ  as  Lord  and  Saviour,  to  build  up  the 
appreciation  of  moral  principles,  the  steady  purpose  of  adher- 
ence to  moral  law,  and  of  loyalty  to  the  good  and  the  true.  That 
is  to  say,  our  work  lies  very  largely  in  the  realm  of  feeling. 


The  Educative  Process,  page  223. 


THE    CULTIVATION   OF    RELIGIOUS    FEELING         97 

Feeling  Has  Direct  Influence  Upon  Condnct. — "The  blind 
faith  in  the  power  of  ideas,"  says  Ribot,  "is  in  practice  an  in- 
exhaustible source  of  illusions  and  errors.  An  idea  which  is  only 
an  idea,  a  simple  fact  of  knowledge,  produces  nothing  and  does 
nothing;  it  only  acts  if  it  is  felt,  if  it  is  accompanied  by  an 
affective  state,  if  it  awakens  tendencies — that  is,  motor  elements." 
This  accords  with  the  statement  of  Aristotle,  who  said:  "Intel- 
lect possesses  no  power  to  move  the  will.  Men  do  not  act  either 
nobly  or  ignobly  simply  because  of  their  possession  of  a  certain 
fund  of  information  or  the  lack  of  it.  Nothing  is  more  common 
than  to  see  a  learned  man  exhibit  a  selfish  spirit  or  an  illiterate 
man — illiterate  both  as  respects  secular  knowledge  and  theo- 
logical subjects — exemplify  a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice." 

The  emotions,  on  the  other  hand,  have  within  themselves  the 
springs  of  action.  Our  feelings  are  constantly  driving  us  into 
action  or  urging  us  forward  in  lines  of  action  in  which  we  are 
already  engaged.  For  evidence  we  have  only  to  look  within;  for 
substantiation,  only  to  give  ear  to  the  everyday  accounts  of  the 
actions  of  others.  "He  was  moved  to  do  as  he  did" — we  hear  it 
every  day — by  "loyalty"  or  "love"  or  "sympathy"  or  "fear"  or 
"jealousy"  or  what  not — always  a  feeling  or  an  emotion. 

The  feelings  not  only  influence  simple  action;  they  give  fire 
and  force  and  power  of  execution.  It  is  enthusiasm,  added  to 
conviction,  that  makes  a  man  a  power  in  the  world.  Lacking 
depth  and  strength  of  feeling,  no  matter  how  much  information 
a  man  may  possess,  he  is  weak  and  ineffective  in  action. 

Not  infrequently  the  mistake  is  made,  both  by  preachers  and 
teachers,  of  assuming  that  a  knowledge  of  Bible  facts  and  of 
doctrines,  of  theological  statements  and  of  creeds  such  as  are 
contained  in  the  catechism,  is  what  is  chiefly  required  in  the 
religious  education  of  pupils.  Such  knowledge  in  itself  is  with- 
out power  to  influence  conduct  or  nurture  religion.  Neither 
Bible  knowledge  nor  doctrine,  no  matter  how  true  or  how  im- 
portant, vitally  affects  life  or  character  until,  touched  with 
emotion,  it  kindles  a  fire  in  the  heart.  That  knowledge  is  im- 
portant, even  a  fundamental  and  necessary  element,  in  religious 
education,  we  pointed  out  in  our  discussion  of  the  purpose  of  in- 
struction. It  now  becomes  clear  that  instruction  needs  to  be 
supplemented  by  the  cultivation  of  such  feelings  as  are  of  in- 
trinsic religious  worth  and  as  will  inspire  moral  and  religious 
conduct.  Religious  education  may  be  represented  as  a  chain, 
incomplete  and  ineffective  if  any  link  is  lacking:  thus,  knowl- 
edge— feeling — ^action — habit — character. 


98  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

Feeling  Is  Intimately  Related  to  Religion. — There  has 
been  much  discussion  as  to  what  is  the  main  root  of  religion  in 
human  nature.  By  some  it  has  been  located  in  the  feelings,  and 
by  others  in  the  will.  Doubtless  it  is  nearer  the  truth  to  say 
that  religion  roots  both  in  the  feelings  and  in  the  will.  What 
is  of  chief  importance  for  the  purpose  of  our  present  discussion 
is  that  the  religious  life  at  its  highest  and  best  has  strong  emo- 
tional content.  A  religion  without  emotion  is  pale  and  color- 
less, without  vitality  and  without  power.  It  comes  far  short  of 
the  ideal  portrayed  in  the  Psalms  and  in  the  Epistles,  in  the 
lives  of  the  prophets  and  the  apostles.  Religious  education  that 
is  to  give  to  the  world  men  and  women  of  eminence  in  religion 
must  give  attention  to  the  effective  cultivation  of  the  emotional 
life. 

In  this  connection  it  is  important  to  note  that  conversion  in 
the  case  of  adults  and  young  people  in  later  adolescence  is 
usually,  though  not  invariably,  a  highly  emotional  experience. 
Emotion  is  necessary  in  order  that  an  individual  may  break 
away  from  a  habitual  mode  of  behavior  and  substitute  for  it  new 
and  higher  modes  of  behavior.  In  the  case  of  those  who  have 
been  irreligious  and  immoral  to  a  marked  degree  it  is  especially 
likely  to  require  a  profound  emotional  upheaval  to  move  the  will, 
displace  the  old,  iniquitous  habits,  and  set  up  new  trains  of 
conduct. 

Cultivation  of  the  Feelings 

The  Enlarged  Task  of  the  Teacher. — Our  discussion  to  this 
point  has  led  us  to  an  enlargement  of  our  conception  of  the 
teacher's  task.  We  have  discussed  in  earlier  chapters  teaching 
through  personal  influence  and  teaching  through  instruction.  It 
now  becomes  evident  that  the  teacher  is  also  to  teach  through 
the  development  and  training  of  the  pupil's  emotional  life.  That 
is  to  say,  what  is  required  of  the  teacher  is  not  merely  to  set 
a  right  example  and  to  be  efficient  in  instruction,  but  also  to 
develop  those  feelings  which  are  of  moral  and  religious  signifi- 
cance. It  is  quite  as  possible  for  a  teacher  to  inspire  as  to  in- 
struct. The  religious  teacher  cannot  be  efficient  unless  he  gives 
attention  to  the  development  and  training  of  all  those  qualities 
or  aspects  of  the  pupil's  nature  which  have  to  do  with  conduct 
and  character.  Among  these  we  have  to  include  the  feelings  as 
exceedingly  influential. 

It  is  not  to  be  thought  that  instruction  and  the  cultivation 
of  the  feelings  are  two  wholly  separate  processes.     They  are  in 


THE    CULTIVATION    OF    RELIGIOUS    FEELING         99 

some  measure  interdependent.  For  the  cultivation  of  the  higher 
feelings  a  background  of  ideas  is  necessary.  As  one  has  said, 
"Feeling  must  have  a  body  of  ideas  to  cling  to."  Or,  to  use  a 
different  figure,  if  we  are  to  think  of  the  emotions  as  supplying 
the  motive  power  of  moral  action  we  may  at  the  same  time 
think  of  the  intellectual  factor  as  furnishing  the  means  by 
which  its  direction  is  controlled.  One  of  the  most  powerful  of 
the  feelings  in  its  influence  upon  action  is  sympathy.  In  itself 
sympathy  is  neither  righteous  nor  evil.  It  may  lead  a  man  to 
rescue  a  child  from  peril  or  to  aid  a  criminal  to  escape.  Its  use 
is  controlled  by  ideas  of  right  and  wrong.  Again,  we  sometimes 
speak  of  certain  ideas  as  having  a  feeling  value,  by  which  we 
mean  that  they  are  themselves  effective  in  awakening  feeling  and 
sentiment.  Instruction  and  the  cultivation  of  the  feelings  be- 
come a  single  process  in  furnishing  the  mind  with  those  moral 
principles  which  will  direct  the  emotions  to  righteous  ends  in 
conduct  and  with  those  ideas  which  have  power  to  inspire  ideals 
and  to  deepen  moral  and  religious  feelings  and  attitudes. 

As  commonly  used,  instruction  has  to  do  primarily  with  the 
intellectual  aim  in  education.  Thinking  of  it  in  this  sense,  we 
emphasize  the  statement  that  it  is  also  the  teacher's  function  to 
teach  through  the  cultivation  of  the  feelings.  In  religious  educa- 
tion this  element  in  the  teacher's  work  is  not  less  important  than 
instruction.  "At  least  the  half,  and  perhaps  the  better  half  of 
education,"  says  Payne,  ,  "consists  in  the  formation  of  right 
feelings.  He  who  teaches  us  to  look  out  upon  the  world  through 
eyes  of  affection,  sympathy,  charity,  and  good  will  has  done  more 
for  us  and  for  society  than  he  who  may  have  taught  us  the 
seven  liberal  arts." 

A  Well-Rounded  Character. — Since  the  major  part  of  this 
textbook  is  concerned  with  the  technique  of  instruction,  a  word 
of  caution  concerning  overemphasis  upon  the  emotional  element 
in  religion  would  seem  scarcely  necessary.  Our  plea  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  feelings  is  wholly  in  the  interest  of  the  develop- 
ment of  a  well-rounded  Christian  character  in  our  pupils.  It  is 
a  pity  that  in  some  quarters  feeling  has  been  given  so  pre- 
dominant a  place  in  religion,  with  the  result  of  excesses  and 
irrational  talk  and  conduct,  that  the  proper  value  of  emotion 
has  been  popularly  lost  sight  of.  Without  question  there  are 
not  a  few  who  have  been  led  to  discountenance  all  emotion  in 
religion.  This  extreme  is  almost  as  unfortunate  as  its  opposite. 
Religion  deprived  of  emotion  invariably  tends  to  become  a  mere 


100  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

form.  Contrariwise,  the  type  of  emotional  religion  which  scoffs 
at  learning  is  almost  sure  to  lack  stability  and  is  likely  to  be 
inwardly  indifferent  to  the  moral  law.  Religion  to  be  whole 
must  be  grounded  in  intelligence  and  in  will  as  well  as  in 
emotion.  The  overstressing  of  emotion  in  religious  education, 
to  the  neglect  of  instruction  and  training  in  conduct,  is  certain 
to  result  in  developing  weak  sentimentalists — persons  who 
possess  much  feeling  but  who  lack  control  and  power  to  achieve 
— or  impulsivists,  who  are  quick  to  speak  and  act  but  who 
quickly  suffer  defeat  in  the  face  of  any  obstacle  or  difficulty. 

VHiat  Feelings  Are  of  Most  Worth? — What  are  the  feelings 
that  are  most  important  from  the  standpoint  of  moral  and 
religious  education?  This  question  implies  that  not  all  phases 
of  the  emotional  life  stand  in  the  same  relation  of  intimacy  and 
influence  to  moral  conduct  and  religion.  To  be  anywhere  near 
complete  a  list  of  the  feelings,  emotions,  and  sentiments  would 
be  of  considerable  length.  Without  attempting  any  formal 
classification — a  matter  upon  which  psychologists  are  by  no 
means  agreed — it  may  be  said  that  these  fall  into  various  groups 
upon  the  basis  of  their  influence  upon  life  and  character.  There 
are,  for  example,  certain  feelings  that  seem  to  operate  as  an 
inner  re-creative  influence.  These,  sometimes  referred  to  as  the 
aesthetic  emotions,  are  especially  susceptible  of  stimulation  by 
literature  and  by  music  and  other  arts.  Again,  there  are  certain 
emotions  that  affect  the  inner  life  of  the  individual  but  which 
also  directly  affect  one's  relations  to  others.  These  may  be 
called  the  social  emotions.  They  are  such  as  sympathy,  pride, 
jealousy,  ambition,  and  anger.  Yet  again,  there  are  certain 
emotions  that  are  of  special  significance  in  their  relation  to 
Christian  life  and  character.  Recall  in  this  connection  Paul's 
statement  concerning  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  (Gal.  5.  22).  What 
other  feelings  not  named  in  this  verse  should  be  included  in  this 
third  list?  Burton  and  Mathews,  in  an  important  discussion  of 
this  general  subject,  suggest  the  following  as  of  especial  impor- 
tance for  the  religious  life:  Reverence,  adoration,  love,  penitence, 
aspiration,  hope.^  Hartshorne  says:  "The  Christian  attitudes 
suitable  to  children  from  the  first  to  the  eighth  grades  (and, 
indeed,  when  properly  defined,  for  other  ages  as  well)  might  be 
summed  up  under  the  rubrics  gratitude,  good  will,  reverence, 
faith,  and  loyalty."= 


1  Princivles  and  Ideals  for  the  Sunday  School,  page  18& 
«  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School,  page  50. 


THE    CULTIVATION    OF    RELIGIOUS    FEELING       101 

The  Method  of  Cultivation. — Of  first  importance  is  the 
recognition  of  two  principles,  intimately  related:  First,  the 
emotional  life  rests  upon  an  instinctive  dasis;  second,  appeal  to 
the  feelings  must  de  chiefly  'by  indirect  means. 

Our  pupils  respond  emotionally  not  by  choice  of  will  but  by 
instinct.  The  response  in  laughter  or  in  tears,  in  approbation  or 
in  anger,  is  instantaneous.  No  pupil  ever  stops  to  think  whether 
he  will  applaud  an  utterance  he  hears  or  whether  he  will  be- 
come indignant  over  it.  In  view  of  this  it  is  a  waste  of  time 
to  exhort  our  pupils  in  a  particular  situation  to  be  reverent  or 
thankful  or  joyful.  Desired  feelings  do  not  come  at  command, 
either  of  the  teacher  or  of  the  pupil  himself.  Have  you  not 
more  than  once  noticed  a  sensitive  child  burst  into  tears  when 
sharply  bidden  by  teacher  or  parent  to  smile?  Why  did  the  tears 
come  instead  of  laughter?  Because  grief,  not  joy,  is  the  in- 
stinctive response  of  a  sensitive  nature  to  rebuke  or  sharp  com- 
mand. Just  as  it  is  time  wasted  to  talk  to  a  class  of  juniors 
about  the  interest  they  ought  to  have  in  their  lesson,  so  is  it  a 
waste  of  time  to  urge  pupils  to  show  proper  feelings.  Create  the 
necessary  conditions,  and  the  response  will  be  instinctive  and 
certain. 

It  thus  becomes  evident  that  atmosphere  and  environment 
must  "be  largely  relied  upon  in  the  cultivation  of  the  feelings. 
A  recent  writer,  thinking  of  religious  education  in  terms  of  the 
development  of  the  emotional  life,  declares  that  the  power  of 
the  Sunday  school  is  nine  tenths  in  its  atmosphere  and  the  per- 
sonality of  the  teacher.  This  is  not  overstated,  and  to  it  should 
be  added  this  other  consideration — that  the  personality  of  the 
teacher  is  a  chief  element  in  determining  the  atmosphere.  Upon 
the  house  where  he  was  born  Pasteur  placed  a  memorial  tablet 
with  this  inscription:  "O  my  father  and  mother,  who  lived  so 
simply  in  this  tiny  house,  it  is  to  you  that  I  owe  everything! 
Your  eager  enthusiasm,  my  mother,  you  passed  on  into  my  life; 
and  you,  my  father,  whose  life  and  trade  were  so  toilsome,  you 
taught  me  what  patience  can  accomplish  with  prolonged  effort. 
It  is  to  you  that  I  owe  tenacity  in  daily  effort."  The  words  are 
eloquent  in  their  suggestion  of  an  atmosphere  capable  of  creating 
just  such  a  spirit  as  that  of  Pasteur.  Enthusiasm,  patience, 
tenacity — were  they  not  the  very  qualities  that  made  him  the 
world's  benefactor?  When  we  have  made  choice  of  those  spiritual 
qualities  which  we  desire  to  see  reproduced  in  our  pupils,  if  we 
may  make  sure  that  they  are  constantly  manifest  in  the  life  of 
home  and  school,  we  need  have  little  fear.    Nothing  is  more  con- 


102  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

taglous  than  feeling.  Thinking  of  the  home  atmosphere  described 
In  "The  Cotter's  Saturday  Night,"  Lynn  Harold  Hough  says: 
"Such  homes  form  the  golden  chain  which  binds  the  world  about 
the  feet  of  God.  The  child  reared  in  a  home  like  this  breathes 
in  piety  as  he  breathes  the  air.  He  does  not  reach  after  belief 
as  an  attainment.  He  has  it  as  a  part  of  the  very  structure  of 
his  life." 

Next  to  the  personality  of  the  officers  and  teachers  in  creating 
a  proper  atmosphere  should  be  named  such  influences  as  the 
character  of  the  service  of  worship,  the  music,  the  pictures,  and 
the  general  decorative  effect  of  the  assembly  room  and  the  class- 
room. None  of  these  things  should  be  considered  as  of  slight 
importance.  Each  is  worthy  of  most  careful  study  as  an  instru- 
ment of  emotional  nurture. 

Religious  feelings  that  are  to  1)6  cultivated  must  find  expres- 
sion. The  emotional  life  is  developed  just  as  the  muscles  or  the 
intellectual  powers — that  is,  through  exercise.  Whenever  a  feel- 
ing is  aroused  it  seeks  to  express  itself  in  some  way.  The  task 
of  the  teacher  becomes  that  of  providing  suitable  means  of  ex- 
pression. For  certain  feelings  expression  in  action  is  required. 
When  sympathy  is  aroused,  some  means  of  expressing  it  through 
a  simple  gift  or  act  of  service  is  the  one  absolutely  necessary 
thing.  Other  feelings,  such  as  reverence,  adoration,  and  faith, 
find  their  natural  expression  in  worship. 

The  Service  of  Worship 

The  Meaning  of  Worsliip. — By  worship  we  mean  the  attempt 
to  enter  into  fellowship  with  God.  In  worship  God  is  the  object 
of  our  attention;  we  seek  to  draw  near  to  him  and  to  establish 
intercourse  with  him.  How  can  we  best  enter  into  this  intimate 
fellowship  with  the  divine?  The  chief  means  are  agreed  upon 
by  all  Christians.  "It  is  to  be  attained  by  the  reading  or  recita- 
tion of  such  sentences  of  Scripture  as  express  in  exalted  and 
poetic  language  the  adoration  of  those  clear-sighted  and  reverent 
souls  who  have  gained  a  vision  of  God;  by  the  singing  of  hymns 
in  which  godly  men  and  women  have  sought  to  express  the 
emotions  of  their  souls;  and  by  prayer  ...  in  which  the  hearts 
of  all  shall  be  lifted  to  God  together.  Such  reverent  and  .  .  . 
solemn  bringing  before  the  mind  of  the  thought  of  God  is  calcu- 
lated as  is  no  other  means  to  call  forth  and  develop  our  religious 
emotions.  When  in  an  atmosphere  ...  of  elevated  and  sincere 
praise  we  gain  a  vision  of  God  as  the  Almighty,  the  ever-loving. 


THE    CULTIVATION    OF    RELIGIOUS    FEELING       103 

perfect   in   holiness   and   boundless   in   mercy,   then   our   hearts 
learn  to  revere,  to  adore,  to  love."^ 

The  Teacher  and  the  Service  of  Worship. — There  is  a 
place  for  worship  as  a  part  of  the  class  session,  and  this  will  not 
be  overlooked  by  the  earnest  teacher.  Training  in  prayer 
in  later  childhood  and  early  adolescence  as  a  rule  can  be  more 
effectively  accomplished  in  the  smaller  and  more  intimate  circle 
of  the  class  than  in  the  department  session  or  the  general 
assembly.  The  value  of  class  prayers  and  the  use  of  class  hymns 
should  also  be  recognized. 

The  service  of  worship  figures  even  more  prominently  in  the 
larger  assembly  of  the  department  and  in  the  general  assembly 
of  the  school  as  a  whole  when  such  is  held.  As  these  services 
are  under  the  direction  of  the  departmental  and  general  super- 
intendents, the  teacher  is  not  primarily  responsible  for  them. 
Nevertheless,  since  they  are  so  intimately  related  to  the  nurture 
of  the  religious  life  of  the  pupils,  the  teacher's  influence  should 
be  used  to  make  them  what  they  ought  to  be. 

One  of  the  places  where  the  average  Sunday  school  utterly 
fails  to  measure  up  to  its  opportunity  is  the  service  of  worship. 
Too  often  the  only  time  that  may  be  devoted  to  such  a  service  is 
given  over  to  so-called  "opening  exercises"  or  "closing  exercises," 
which,  if  not  actually  disorderly,  are  almost  entirely  lacking  in 
vital  spiritual  purpose  and  devoid  of  any  real  spirit  of  worship. 
Every  teacher  should  have  a  definite  idea  of  the  purpose  of  the 
service  of  worship  and  a  worthy  ideal  of  what  such  a  service 
should  be.  As  the  effectiveness  of  his  work  as  a  religious  teacher 
depends  in  no  small  measure  on  the  training  of  his  pupils  in 
worship,  he  should  regard  it  as  a  part  of  his  obligation  to  them 
to  use  his  influence  to  the  fullest  extent  possible  to  create  high 
ideals  for  the  service  among  his  fellow  workers — the  officers  and 
other  teachers  of  the  school. 

The  Lesson  for  Appreciatioin' 

In  addition  to  the  means  of  developing  the  emotional  life 
already  considered  there  is  a  method  of  teaching  which  has  for 
its  principal  aim  the  awakening  and  development  of  morally 
significant  feelings.  This  method  is  known  as  the  lesson  for 
appreciation. 

The  Purpose  of  the  Appreciation  Lesson. — The  name  of  the 
method  tells  its  own  story:   it  is  definitely  intended  to  awaken 

^Principles  and  Ideals  for  the  Sunday  School,  Burton  and  ]Mathews,  page  186. 


104  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

and  develop  power  of  appreciation  and  other  related  feelings  of 
moral  and  religious  significance.  There  are  many  Bible  lessons 
in  which  the  element  of  religious  knowledge  is  slight.  They 
offer  little  basis  for  teaching  in  the  sense  of  imparting  informa- 
tion. They  are  not,  because  of  this,  to  be  regarded  as  unimpor- 
tant, since  they  may  offer  the  finest  possible  basis  for  the  culti- 
vation of  emotional  attitudes  that  are  fundamental  in  the  reli- 
gious life.  Take,  for  example,  the  twenty-third  Psalm.  What 
of  knowledge  content  has  it  that  is  of  religious  value?  Very 
little,  if  any.  Is  it  therefore  to  be  considered  useless  material  for 
the  purposes  of  religious  teaching?  By  no  means.  Consider  the 
testimony  of  Henry  Ward  B^echer  concerning  this,  which  he 
calls  "the  nightingale  of  Psalms":  "It  has  filled  the  air  of  the 
whole  world  with  melodious  joy.  ...  It  has  comforted  the  noble 
host  of  the  poor.  It  has  sung  courage  to  the  army  of  the  dis- 
appointed. It  has  poured  balm  and  consolation  into  the  heart 
of  the  sick,  of  captives  in  dungeons,  of  widows  in  their  pinching 
griefs,  of  orphans  in  their  loneliness.  It  has  made  the  dying 
slave  freer  than  his  master  and  consoled  those  whom,  dying, 
he  left  behind.  Nor  is  its  work  done.  It  will  go  on  singing 
through  all  the  generations  of  time.  .  .  ."  All  these  are  pre- 
eminently spiritual  values  whose  importance  for  religion  cannot 
be  overestimated. 

Method. — Least  of  all  lesson  types  can  the  appreciation  lesson 
be  reduced  to  formal  plan.  The  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  offer 
a  few  general  suggestions  as  to  its  use.  The  teacher's  part  may 
be  described  as  a  threefold  service: 

(c)  The  teacher  should  seek  to  lead  the  pupils  into  the 
presence  of  that  which  it  is  desired  they  should  admire.  Says 
Strayer:  "Read  the  poem,  play  the  music,  expose  the  picture  to 
view,  and  allow  them  to  do  their  work." 

(ft)  The  teacher  should  interpret  the  lesson,  calling  attention 
to  the  most  essential  points  and  explaining  their  meaning. 
Returning,  for  example,  to  the  twenty-third  Psalm,  we  find  in  it 
several  statements  for  the  proper  appreciation  of  which  an 
acquaintance  with  shepherd  life  in  the  East  is  essential.  Take 
the  sentence  "He  leadeth  me  beside  still  waters."  The  running 
streams  in  the  grazing  lands  of  Palestine  almost  without  excep- 
tion dry  up  during  the  summer  months.  The  allusion  of  the 
Psalmist  to  "still  waters"  is  to  unfailing  wells.  Again,  take  the 
clause  "though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death."    The  hill  country  of  Judah  has  many  deep,  narrow,  rocky 


THE    CULTIVATION    OF    RELIGIOUS    FEELING       105 

gorges,  dark  and  gloomy,  with  caves  in  which  wild  beasts  have 
their  lair  and  in  which  robbers  lie  in  wait.  Having  walked 
through  such  a  dark  and  fearsome  place,  one  can  readily  realize 
how  it  might  be  referred  to  as  "the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death."  So  with  a  number  of  other  statements  of  the  Psalm — 
the  teacher's  part  is  that  of  interpreter. 

(c)  The  teacher  should  create  effective  associations  in  connec- 
tion with  that  which  is  to  he  appreciated.  This  may  be  done  in 
various  ways.  An  English  teacher  traveling  in  Canada  met  a 
shepherd  boy  in  a  lonely  spot  in  the  northwest.  He  talked  with 
him  about  his  task — his  care  and  love  for  the  sheep.  "By  the 
way,"  he  said,  "there  is  a  Psalm  in  the  Old  Testament  called  the 
Shepherd  Psalm.  Do  you  know  it?"  The  boy  did  not,  so  the 
teacher  repeated  it  over  and  over  until  the  boy  had  learned  it  by 
heart.  "Now,"  he  said,  "I  want  you  to  say  this  Psalm  every  day 
when  you  start  out  with  your  sheep.  You  can  repeat  the  first 
verse  on  the  thumb  and  fingers  of  one  hand,  and  I  want  you  to 
do  it  this  way.  Begin  with  the  thumb,  and  when  you  come  to 
the  word  *my'  grip  that  finger."  The  boy  promised  that  he 
would  and  when  he  reached  home  that  night  he  told  his  father 
the  story.  Some  weeks  later,  when  taking  out  the  sheep,  the 
boy  was  overtaken  by  a  sudden  storm.  When  he  was  found, 
frozen  in  the  snow,  he  was  tightly  gripping  the  third  finger. 

Appreciation,  no  more  than  love  or  any  other  feeling,  can  be 
aroused  by  act  of  will  or  compelled  by  sense  of  duty.  It  awakens 
as  the  spontaneous  response  of  the  heart.  No  amount  of  urging 
or  questioning  can  call  it  forth.  Rather  they  are  likely  to  do 
harm  by  stimulating  the  expression  of  an  admiration  that  is  not 
really  felt. 

Constructive  Task 

1.  Considering  yet  again  the  Sunday  school  with  which  you 
are  most  intimately  acquainted:  Does  there  seem  to  be  a  con- 
scious effort  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent  and  the  depart- 
mental superintendents  to  develop  religiously  significant  feelings? 

2.  Study  the  service  of  worship  of  a  given  department  (or,  if 
there  is  no  departmental  session,  the  service  of  the  general 
assembly),  (a)  What  elements  in  it  are  calculated  to  nurture 
the  emotional  life  of  the  pupils?  (&)  Wherein  could  it  be  made 
more  effective? 

3.  Talk  with  one  or  more  of  the  teachers  in  an  informal  way 
with  the  object  of  ascertaining  whether  the  nurture  of  the 
emotional  life  is  a  conscious  and  definite  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XI 
TEACHING  THROUGH  ACTIVITY 

Probably  no  tendency  in  children  is  tfie  subject  of  more  fre- 
quent questioning  and  even  complaint  and  criticism  on  the  part 
of  their  elders  than  that  of  their  almost  incessant  activity. 
"Frank  is  never  quiet  except  when  he  is  asleep,"  says  the  weary 
mother;  and  the  father  queries,  "Why  can't  that  boy  learn  to 
walk  downstairs  like  other  people,  at  least  occasionally,  instead 
of  always  running  or  jumping  or  sliding  down  the  banisters?" 

"Did  you  ever  in  your  life  see  such  children  as  that  Smith 
bunch?"  A  nervous  neighbor  of  the  family  is  speaking.  "Why, 
they  play  all  the  time.  They  are  never  still.  Look  out  any  hour 
of  the  day  and  you  are  sure  to  see  them  on  the  lawn,  in  some 
neighbor's  yard,  or  on  the  street.  And  the  noise  they  make  is 
enough  to  drive  one  to  distraction." 

"Boys,"  says  the  stern  president  of  the  board  of  trustees,  "if 
you  are  going  to  come  to  Sunday  school  you  must  behave.  The 
church  is  no  place  to  play." 

"Frank,"  says  the  day-school  teacher,  "what  would  you  do  if 
you  were  a  teacher  with  a  room  full  of  boys  and  girls,  not  one 
of  whom  knows  how  to  keep  still?" 

Activity  in  the  child  is  instinctive  and  constant.  We  cannot 
ignore  it.  Curtis  found  that  young  children  cannot  sit  motionless 
more  than  thirty  seconds;  that  children  of  five  to  ten  cannot 
remain  passive  more  than  a  minute  and  a  half.  The  fact  is  that  it  is 
impossible  for  children  to  "sit  still."  They  could  not  if  they  would. 
The  instinct  of  activity  was  placed  in  the  child  to  be  used,  not 
to  be  ignored,  condemned,  or  suppressed. 

The  importance  of  activity  in  relation  to  learning  is  now  well 
understood.  Probably  no  principle  has  been  more  often  reiterated 
in  recent  years  than  this:  "There  can  be  no  impression  without 
expression."  The  child's  creative  activity  is  to  be  thought  of  as  a 
principal  factor  in  his  education.  Indeed,  there  are  not  a  few  edu- 
cators who  contend  that  this  is  the  chief  means  in  all  education 
— that  children  learn  more  and  are  more  largely  influenced  by 
self-activity  than   in   any  other   way.'     In  practice   this   means 


Reread  at  this  point  The  Pupil,  Chapter  V. 

106 


TEACHING   THROUGH    ACTIVITY  107 

that  it  is  not  enough  for  lesson  material  to  be  merely  presented 
to  the  pupil.  Telling  is  only  one  of  the  several  steps  in  the 
teaching  process.  The  activity  of  the  pupil  must  be  enlisted  in 
appropriating  the  material,  in  making  use  of  it.  In  public-school 
teaching  expression  is  secured  through  retelling  the  story, 
dramatization,  map  drawing,  answering  questions,  writing  com- 
positions, and  various  other  ways.  While  these  are  equally  im- 
portant in  religious  teaching,  there  are  other  forms  of  expres- 
sion more  important  than  any  of  those  named.  Certain  subjects 
are  included  in  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools  which  are 
comparatively  unrelated  to  life  and  conduct — for  example,  algebra 
and  physics.  These  may  be  "learned"  without  any  form  of  social 
expression.  But  religion,  more  particularly  the  Christian 
religion,  is  essentially  a  matter  of  personal  attitudes  and  rela- 
tions. It  is  "a  way  of  life."  Its  expression  is  in  conduct.  It 
may  only  be  learned  by  being  lived. 

The  teacher's  work  cannot  be  completed  within  the  limits  of 
a  so-called  "lesson  period";  it  is  not  complete  until  the  truth  has 
been  put  into  practice,  until  the  moral  principle  has  become  a 
habit,  until  the  ideal  has  been  transformed  into  conduct  and  char- 
acter. Expressional  activities  are  not  to  be  considered  something 
additional  or  supplemental  to  teaching,  the  whole  of  which  is 
thought  of  as  comprehended  in  instruction  or  telling;  they  are 
actually  a  part  of  the  teaching  process,  as  fundamental  and  in- 
dispensable a  part  of  it  as  its  instruction.  Accordingly,  just  as 
we  have  previously  spoken  of  teaching  through  personal  asso- 
ciation and  teaching  through  instruction  so  we  may  speak  of 
teaching  through  activity. 

It  is  well  to  recognize  that  at  this  point  we  come  upon  one  of 
the  most  prevalent  weaknesses  in  Sunday-school  work.  Our 
work  of  instruction  often  has  been  poorly  done,  but  we  have  been 
even  less  efficient  in  utilizing  the  self-activity  of  our  pupils  and 
in  securing  significant  expression.  Few  things  are  more  im- 
portant than  that  the  work  of  the  Sunday  school  shall  be  strength- 
ened in  this  particular. 

Completing  the  Process  of  Instruction 

In  religious  teaching,  as  in  all  education,  the  process  of  in- 
struction requires  for  its  completion  some  form  of  response  on 
the  part  of  the  pupil. 

Reproducing;  the  Lesson. — It  is  the  pupil  that  is  being 
taught,  not  the  lesson,  and  if  the  pupil  is  really  to  possess  the 


108  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

lesson  he  must  make  it  his  own  by  reproducing  it  in  some  way. 
The  way  in  which  the  lesson  is  to  be  reproduced  will  depend  on 
the  age  of  the  pupil. 

(a)  In  beginners'  classes. — Beginners  manifest  a  tendency  to 
move  about,  to  imitate  the  actions  of  other  members  of  the  group, 
and  to  play.  These  activities  should  not  be  repressed,  but  it  is 
necessary  for  the  teacher  to  give  direction  and  guidance  to 
them.  The  fundamental  form  of  activity  is  play.  The  chief 
problem  is  that  of  directing  the  play  impulse  in  ways  that  illus- 
trate and  impress  the  truth  of  the  lesson  story.  The  pre- 
dominance of  imagination,  imitation,  and  suggestibility  makes  it 
easy  for  the  children  to  play  the  story.  They  may  also  be  called 
upon  to  retell  the  lesson  story.  Says  Rankin:  "Though  the  chil- 
dren's expression  in  retelling  the  story  may  be  crude,  there  are 
times  when  it  is  worth  while  for  them  ...  to  retell  them 
verbally  and  illustrate  them  with  drawings;  for  only  through 
these  crude  expressions  can  the  child  get  control  of  the  idea,  and 
only  so  can  we  know  just  what  impressions  the  children  are 
getting,  how  to  make  them  clear,  and  how  to  raise  their  ideas 
and  ideals  to  a  higher  plane."' 

(6)  In  primary  classes. — ^The  children  will  delight  to  retell 
the  lesson  story.  With  a  little  encouragement  even  the  hesitant 
and  unexpressive  pupil  will  respond.  The  story  becomes  in- 
creasingly real  to  the  child  as  he  proceeds  to  tell  it:  he  becomes 
the  actor,  shares  his  feelings,  and  is  influenced  by  his  motives 
and  purposes.  Primary  pupils  will  also  readily  attempt  to  retell 
the  story  in  a  picture.  What  matters  it  if  the  drawing  is  crude 
and  inartistic?  You  are  not  teaching  drawing  but  a  religious 
lesson.  The  effort  to  represent  the  idea  through  the  fingers  gives 
it  an  opportunity  to  take  hold  upon  the  mind  and  heart.  The 
drawing  may  be  with  pencil  or  crayon  on  pads  or  sheets  of 
paper  or  on  the  blackboard.  Two  or  three  pupils  may  join  in 
making  the  picture.  This  is  more  likely  to  interest  the  whole 
class  than  when  only  one  child  makes  the  drawing.  In  both 
beginners'  and  primary  classes  the  reproduction  of  the  story 
should  be  on  the  Sunday  following  its  first  presentation,  pro- 
vision for  it  being  made  in  the  early  part  of  the  hour. 

(c)  In  junior  classes. — Retelling  the  story  is  still  significant. 
Written  work  is  possible  on  a  larger  scale.  Some  form  of 
written  account  of  the  facts  learned  should  be  required.  Various 
forms  of  handwork,  such  as  making  relief  maps  in  sand  or  pulp, 


1 A  Courte  for  Beginner*  in  Religious  Education,  patfe  16L 


TEACHING    THROUGH    ACTIVITY  109 

dressing  dolls  to  represent  the  actors  in  the  story,  etc.,  find  their 
largest  usefulness  with  the  juniors. 

id)  In  intermediate  classes. — Handwork  has  its  place  in 
teaching  intermediates,  but  it  must  be  on  a  plane  of  dignity  and 
importance  such  as  to  appeal  to  them.  They  despise  being  asked 
to  do  the  same  things  as  the  "little  kids."  Pupils  may  be  asked 
to  write  a  story  illustrating  some  teaching  of  the  lesson,  to 
supply  original  illustrations  from  observation  and  reading,  and 
to  supply  associations.  The  skillful  teacher  watches  the  un- 
responsive or  mischievous  pupil  to  discover  his  bit  of  knowledge 
and  tries  tactfully  to  get  him  to  explain  the  point  to  those  who 
do  not  have  his  knowledge  of  it. 

(e)  In  senior,  young  people* s,  and  adult  classes. — Written 
reports,  essays,  and  debates  now  become  possible.  There  is 
opportunity  for  a  great  deal  of  ingenuity  in  devising  forms  of 
expression.  Principal  dependence,  as  a  rule,  must  be  placed 
upon  questioning.  Do  not  be  satisfied  with  a  perfectly  obvious 
answer.  Find  out  what  lies  behind  the  statement  in  the  person's 
mind.  One  may  answer  any  number  of  questions  in  the  words  of 
the  lesson  yet  have  no  real  understanding  of  what  the  words 
mean  or  of  their  application  to  life. 

The  Use  of  Dramatization. — Simple  dramatization  is  one  of 
the  most  effective  means  of  making  real  the  feelings  and  atti- 
tudes that  it  is  desired  to  inculcate  in  teaching  many  Bible 
lessons.  In  taking  the  part  of  a  Bible  character  the  pupil  tends 
actually  to  become  that  character,  to  relive  his  experience,  feel 
as  he  felt,  be  moved  by  the  motives  by  which  he  was  moved,  and 
attain  the  goal  that  he  sought  to  attain.  How  real  and  meaning- 
ful a  Bible  story  may  become  when  dramatized  is  shown  by  the 
case  of  a  junior  boy  who  took  the  part  of  the  good  Samaritan. 
When  he  came  to  the  point  of  binding  up  the  wounds  of  the  man 
who  had  fallen  among  thieves,  he  entered  so  completely  into  the 
experience  that,  in  the  words  of  the  teacher  who  tells  of  the 
incident,  he  fairly  shouted:  "Oh,  where  are  some  bandages  to 
put  on  the  man?"  and  before  the  teacher  realized  what  he  was 
doing,  he  had  torn  the  sleeve  from  his  shirt  and  was  energetic- 
ally bandaging  the  wounded  man.  The  mother  of  the  boy  was 
right  in  her  estimate  of  the  incident.  When  the  perturbed 
teacher  told  her  what  had  happened,  she  said:  "Never  mind 
about  the  shirt;  I  would  be  willing  to  buy  a  new  one  every  week 
if  necessary,  for  I  know  that  the  lesson  of  the  good  Samaritan 
will  stay  with  Robert  forever." 


110  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

The  teacher's  problem  in  teaching  biography  is  to  make  the 
character  who  is  being  studied  live.  Even  in  the  hero-loving  age 
the  boy  has  little  interest  in  dead  heroes.  He  is  likely  to  have 
much  the  same  feeling  about  them  as  was  expressed  by  Huckle- 
berry Finn:  "After  supper  she  got  out  her  book  and  learned  me 
about  Moses  and  the  bulrushers,  and  I  was  in  a  sweat  to  find  out 
all  about  him;  but  by  and  by  she  let  it  out  that  Moses  had  been 
dead  a  considerable  long  time;  so  then  I  didn't  care  no  more 
about  him,  because  I  don't  take  no  stock  in  dead  people."  But 
if  a  boy  can  be  helped  to  relive  the  experience  of  a  great  Bible 
character  by  representing  him  in  some  concrete  situation,  his 
hero  is  brought  out  of  the  dead  past  into  the  living  present,  and 
his  motives  and  purposes  are  given  power  to  reproduce  them- 
selves in  a  new  life.  Whether  one  is  teaching  the  life  of  Moses, 
of  Joshua,  of  Samuel,  of  David,  or  of  Paul,  there  are  frequent 
opportunities  of  reproducing  significant  situations  in  simple 
dramatic  form.^ 

EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  HaND 

The  term  "handwork"  may  be  used  in  referring  to  any  form 
of  expression  through  the  constructive  activities  of  the  hand. 
As  Patterson  Du  Bois  says,  "It  is  a  way  of  letting  the  pupil  think 
himself  into  knowledge  through  the  hand."  In  behalf  of  hand- 
work in  the  Sunday  school  Cope  says:  "It  is  the  natural  way  of 
education  through  self-activity;  it  involves  self-expression,  upon 
which  the  value  of  all  impression  depends;  it  enlists  a  large 
proportion  of  the  child's  whole  life;  it  follows  the  laws  of  his 
developing  nature,  his  desire  to  do,  to  create;  it  accords  with 
the  play  spirit,  which  is  really  only  the  creation  spirit;  it 
secures  cooperation  by  the  whole  class,  teaching  pupils  to 
work  with  others,  developing  the  social  spirit;  it  never  fails  to 
secure  interest,  the  basis  of  attention;  it  removes  religion  from 
the  realm  of  the  abstract  and  unreal  to  the  practical,  concrete, 
and  close  at  hand;  it  coordinates  the  work  of  the  Sunday  school 
with  that  of  the  day  school,  tending  to  make  the  pupil's  educa- 
tion unitary.''^* 

Forms  of  Handwork. — There  are  certain  more  or  less  well- 
defined  forms  or  kinds  of  handwork.  Of  these  the  following  are 
the  more  important: 


» For  further  study  see  The  Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories,  Miller. 
*  The  Modern  Sunday  School  and  Its  Present-Day  Task,  page  116. 


TEACHING    THROUGH    ACTIVITY  111 

(a)  Picture  work. — This  includes  free  drawing  with  colored 
crayons;  coloring  pictures  or  mounting  pictures  that  illustrate 
the  lesson  story;  cutting  from  outlines;  making  Christmas  or 
Easter  cards  from  ready-made  materials;  coloring  and  illu- 
minating initial  letters,  borders,  and  designs;  designing  decora- 
tions or  title  pages;  and  making  descriptive  drawings  to  illus- 
trate the  lesson  story.  Children  delight  in  telling  the  story  in 
a  picture,  and  even  though  the  result  may  be  very  crude  from 
an  artistic  standpoint  it  is  of  real  significance.  The  making  of 
the  picture  tends  to  impress  the  truth  indelibly  upon  the  mind. 

(&)  Map  work. — There  are  various  useful  forms  of  map  work. 
The  simplest  is  tracing  or  coloring  outline  maps.  Next  is  simple 
map  drawing.  The  modeling  of  relief  maps  in  sand,  clay, 
plasticine,  or  pulp  is  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of  impress- 
ing the  topography  of  a  land  and  the  location  of  its  rivers,  hills, 
and  mountains. 

(c)  Constructive  work. — Many  forms  of  construction  may  be 
related  to  Bible  lessons.  Models  of  weapons,  tools,  furniture, 
houses,  a  sheepfold,  well  curb  and  trough,  a  tent — even  of  the 
tabernacle  and  of  the  Temple — may  be  made.  Such  work  often 
serves  as  a  stimulus  to  original  study,  including  searching  the 
Bible  and  books  of  reference  for  exact  information. 

(d)  Writing  and  notebook  work. — Writing  is  much  used  in  the 
public  school  from  the  second  grade  on.  It  is  equally  valuable 
in  religious  teaching  as  a  means  of  fixing  impressions.  A  be- 
ginning may  be  made  by  copying  the  memory  verses  and  writing 
the  answers  to  simple  questions.  In  the  more  advanced  grades 
stories  may  be  rewritten,  answers  to  questions  recorded,  and 
biographies  of  Bible  characters  prepared.  In  an  upper  inter- 
mediate or  a  senior  class  the  making  of  a  harmony  of  the 
Gospels  is  exceedingly  helpful.  In  these  grades  it  is  important 
for  a  permanent  notebook  to  be  kept. 

Some  Guiding  Principles. — Handwork  may  profitably  be 
made  the  subject  of  extended  study  by  teachers.  Here  it  is 
possible  only  to  state  briefly  two  or  three  guiding  principles: 

(a)  Handwork  should  represent  free  expression  on  the  part 
of  the  pupil.  Its  value  is  lessened  if  it  is  done  at  the  behest  of 
the  teacher,  or  if  it  is  necessary  for  the  teacher  to  suggest  the 
exact  form  it  should  take.  The  problem  is  to  stimulate  the 
pupil's  initiative  and  at  the  same  time  insure  that  what  is  done 
is  an  expression  of  the  lesson  truth. 

(&)  Handwork  should  he  tested  hy  its  relation  to  the  purpose 


112  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

o/  the  lesson.  The  excellence  of  the  production  as  a  work  of  art 
is  not  at  all  the  test.  Rather  the  teacher  should  ask  such  ques- 
tions as  these:  Does  it  teach  a  lesson  fact?  Does  it  deepen  the 
impression  of  a  lesson  truth?  Does  it  relate  the  lesson  to  life 
in  such  a  way  that  the  pupil  will  be  helped  to  carry  over  the 
lesson  into  conduct?  Without  doubt  some  teachers  in  their 
enthusiasm  for  the  new  and  novel  have  introduced  specific  forms 
of  handwork  into  their  classes  that  have  been  utterly  devoid  of 
religious  significance. 

(c)  Handwork  should  not  te  permitted  to  become  merely 
''busy  work.''  There  are  times  when  "busy  work"  is  useful,  but 
it  should  not  be  confused  with  handwork.  It  is  easy  for  the 
spiritual  aim  to  be  lost  sight  of,  and  both  teacher  and  pupils  to 
concern  themselves  entirely  with  the  materials — crayons,  paper, 
scissors,  paste,  etc.    For  this  to  happen  is  a  misfortune. 

id)  Handwork  should  le  given  only  its  proper  time  and  place. 
In  the  beginners'  and  primary  grades  a  brief  period  within  the 
Sunday  session  may  be  allotted  to  it.  In  the  senior  and  higher 
grades  it  should  be  done  during  the  week  or  on  Sunday  at  some 
other  hour  than  that  of  the  Sunday-school  session.  Baldwin 
makes  the  following  practical  suggestions:  "It  may  be  planned 
for  in  one  of  four  ways:  (1)  The  teacher  of  each  class  may  meet 
with  the  class  for  this  purpose  at  her  own  home,  the  home  of 
one  of  the  pupils,  or  the  Sunday-school  building.  (2)  The  super- 
intendent of  the  department  or  someone  appointed  to  have  charge 
of  the  manual  work  may  meet  all  the  pupils  at  some  given  time, 
assisted  by  as  many  of  the  teachers  as  can  give  their  services. 

(3)  Special  instructors  may  be  appointed  to  conduct  classes  in 
geography,   hymn  illustration,   and  modeling   during  the   week. 

(4)  The  handwork  may  be  done  in  the  regular  session  for  week- 
day religious  instruction."* 

EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES  OF   SERVICE 

Expressional  activities  reach  their  highest  level  of  religious 
significance  in  terms  of  the  service  of  others.  The  final  interpre- 
tation of  the  gospel  is  a  life  of  service.  When  we  have  prepared 
our  pupils  to  go  out  into  the  walks  of  daily  life,  and,  according 
to  the  measure  of  their  ability,  repeat  the  life  and  works  of 
Christ  in  living  for  and  serving  others,  we  have  truly  taught 
them  the  gospel.     If  our  instruction  falls  short  of  actually  pro- 


»  The  Junior  Worker  and  Work,  page  96. 


TEACHING    THROUGH    ACTIVITY  113 

ducing  Christians  who  serve — habitually,  purposefully,  efficiently 
— it  fails  of  being  fully  Christian.  There  is  only  one  way  for  the 
Sunday  school  to  succeed  in  producing  such  Christians,  and  that 
is  persistently  and  systematically  to  train  its  pupils  in  service. 
This  can  be  accomplished  only  by  a  definite  service  program. 

Planning  the  Program. — Certain  fundamental  principles 
must  be  kept  in  mind: 

(a)  The  progra7)i  should  J)e  graded.  Possible  activities  should 
be  suggested  for  pupils  of  all  departments  and  grades.  These 
should  be  listed  in  orderly  and  progressive  sequence.  Pupils 
should  not  be  encouraged  to  undertake  activities  that  are  beyond 
their  years.  In  general  it  is  best  for  little  children  to  do  things 
for  those  of  their  own  age;  for  young  people  to  help  other  young 
people. 

(6)  The  program  should  'be  largely  determined  dy  the  needs 
of  the  community.  An  artificial  or  ready-made  program  is 
doomed  to  failure.  It  would  be  impossible  to  devise  a  program 
suited  to  all  schools.  The  program  in  each  individual  Sunday 
school  must  grow  out  of  local  conditions  and  needs  and  the  oppor- 
tunities and  ■  capacities  of  those  who  are  to  carry  it  out.  The 
first  question  to  be  asked  is,  What  are  the  unmet  needs  of  the 
community  to  which  this  Sunday  school  may  minister?  There 
are  of  course  certain  needs  common  to  all  communities.  Every- 
where there  are  those  who  are  sick  or  aged  or  infirm  or  crippled 
to  be  ministered  to.  There  are  overburdened  mothers  and 
neglected  little  ones  and  those  who  are  for  one  reason  or  another 
unfortunate. 

(c)  The  program  should  reach  out  deyond  the  local  com- 
munity. Provision  for  service  should  begin  at  home  but  should 
not  end  there.  To  think  in  terms  of  one's  local  community  only 
is  to  become  narrow  and  provincial.  It  is  the  glory  of  Christian- 
ity that  it  knows  no  boundaries  of  neighborhood,  nation,  or  race. 
To  stop  short  of  world  service  is  to  be  something  less  than  fully 
Christian. 

(d)  Activities  should  he  spontaneous.  Service  activities  have 
little  value  for  the  pupils  unless  they  are  the  pupils'  own.  That 
which  they  do  at  the  behest  of  others  is  robbed  of  half  its  value. 
Although  the  needs  should  be  carefully  listed,  freedom  of  choice 
should  be  assured  the  pupils. 

Suggested    Program    for   an    Intermediate    Department. — 

As  a  means  of  suggesting  that  the  average  church  situation 
affords  abundant  opportunity  for  a  program  of  service  the  fol- 


114 


PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 


lowing   program   for   a  particular   department,   most   of   whose 
provisions  are  applicable  to  any  community,  is  presented: 


Local  School  and  Church 

Visit  members  of  depart- 
ment who  are  ill. 

Make  chairs  and  tables 
for  Beginners'  and 
Primary  Departments. 

Act  as  doorkeepers. 

Act  as  ushers. 

Act  as  messengers  for 
church  office. 

Distribute  announce- 
ments of  Sunday  serv- 
ice. 

Assist  on  playgroimd. 

Visit  shut-ins  of  Home 
Department  with 
Home-Department  vis- 
itor and  sing  for  them. 

Help  at  party  for  Begin- 
ners' Department. 

Sing  in  choir. 

Distribute  songbooks. 

Raise  flowers  to  decorate 
the  church  during  sum- 
mer and  fall. 

Prepare  posters  for  bul- 
letin board. 

Help  superintendent  and 
teacher  care  for  depart- 
ment room  and  class- 
rooms. 

Prepare  Christmas  box 
for  poor  family. 

Prepare  Christmas  tree 
for  sick  child  or  poor 
child. 


Community 

Make  scrapbooks  for  chil- 
dren's hospital. 

Make  fireless  cookers  for 
poor  families. 

Make  popcorn  balls  for 
orphans'  home. 

Cut  firewood  for  widow. 

Take  weekly  turns  in 
doing  chores  for  aged 
woman. 

Share  magazines  with 
boys  who  have  none. 

Contribute  money  to  or- 
phanages, hospitals,  etc. 

Make  bedroom  slippers 
for  home  for  crippled 
children. 

Collect  clothing  for  dis- 
tribution through  asso- 
ciated charities  or  other 
agency. 

Subscribe  for  magazines 
for  orphans'  home,  or  for 
crippled  child. 

Collect     magazines     and 

Eictures  for  orphans' 
ome,  childaen's  hos- 
pital, or  county  infirm- 
ary. 

Can  fruit  for  old  people's 
home. 

Make  jelly  for  hospital. 

Promote  "clean-up  week" 
— backyards,  alleys,  va- 
cant lots,  etc. 

Help  on  "clean  streets" 
program. 


The  Larger  World 

Provide  outing  for  chil- 
dren from  the  city. 

Contribute  money  to  for- 
eign relief. 

Contribute  money  to  give 
mission  boy  an  educa- 
tion in  a  Christian 
school. 

Contribute  tuition  and 
clothing  for  pupil  in 
mountaineer  or  freed- 
men's  school. 

Make  kodak  pictures  for 
use  on  mission  field. 

Collect  imused  Simday- 
school  supplies  for  mis- 
sion field. 

Provide  library  for  fron- 
tier Sunday  school. 

Make  dolls  and  puzzles 
to  include  in  a  home 
mission  box. 

Carry  out  "salvage  cam- 
p  a  i  g  n"  —  gathering 
waste  and  selling  it  to 
aid  relief. 

Join  the  Red  Cross  and 
take  definite  part  in 
its  activities. 


Similar  schedules  might  readily  be  prepared  for  each  of  the 
other  departments  of  the  school. 


Constructive  Task 

1.  Considering  yet  again  the  Sunday  school  you  know  best: 
What  systematic  effort  is  made  to  make  use  of  the  activities  of 
the  pupils?    Be  specific  in  your  answer. 

2.  Observe  a  junior  or  intermediate  class  during  a  school 
session:  (a)  Were  the  pupils  passive  or  active?  What  did  they 
do?  Describe  fully,  (ft)  What  ways  can  you  suggest  of  utilizing 
the  activity  of  these  pupils? 

3.  Talk  with  a  superintendent  in  whose  school  or  with  a 
teacher  in  whose  class  handwork  is  being  successfully  used. 
Find  out  all  you  can  about  the  methods  used. 

4.  Prepare  a  practical  program  of  activities  for  a  particular 


TEACHING    THROUGH    ACTIVITY  115 

Junior  Department.    Be  sure  that  you  can  justify  every  item  you 
put  into  it. 

References  fob  Supplementary  Reading 
In  "The  Worker  and  His  Work''  series 

1.  Connecting  truth  with  life:   The  Junior  Worker  and  Work, 
Chapter  XVI. 

2.  The  higher  forms  of  expression:    The  Intermediate  Worker 
and  Work,  Chapter  IX. 

3.  Materials  and  forms  of  handvrork  for  primary  pupils:    The 
Primary  Worker  and  Work,  Chapter  XIV. 

In  the  library 

1.  Expressional   activities:    Religious   Training  in   the   School 
and  the  Home,  Sneath-Hodges-Tweedy,  Chapter  XVII. 

2.  Types  of  handwork:  Handwork  in  the  Sunday  School,  Little- 
field,  Chapter  II. 

3.  Neglected  aspects  of  manual  work:  Efficiency  in  the  Sunday 
School,  Cope,  Chapter  XVII. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  CLASS  AS  A  SCHOOL  FOR  SOCIAL  LIVING 

Two  children  were  talking  about  the  Sunday  schools  they 
attended.  One  said:  "My  teacher  tells  us  everything.  I  think 
we  shall  soon  know  all  there  is  to  be  known  about  the  Bible." 
The  other  replied  thoughtfully:  "We  are  learning  a  lot  in  our 
class,  too.  Most  of  all  I  think  we  are  learning  how  to  live 
together  as  God's  children." 

We  might  very  well  take  the  child's  statement  as  a  definition 
of  the  ideal  class:  It  is  a  place  where  the  pupils  are  learning  to 
live  together  as  Ood's  children. 

One  of  the  most  significant  developments  in  general  education 
in  recent  years  has  been  the  increasing  emphasis  upon  education 
as  life — upon  the  school  as  a  place  where  the  child  gets  experi- 
ence in  living  with  others,  receiving  from  them  and  consciously 
and  willfully  making  his  contribution  to  the  common  welfare.  The 
change  that  has  taken  place  is  thus  illustrated  by  Dewey:  "Some 
few  years  ago  I  was  looking  about  the  school  supply  stores  in 
the  city,  trying  to  find  desks  and  chairs  which  seemed  thoroughly 
suitable  from  all  points  of  view  ...  to  the  needs  of  the  chil- 
dren. We  had  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  in  finding  what  we 
needed,  and  finally  one  dealer  made  this  remark:  'I  am  afraid 
we  have  not  what  you  want.  You  want  something  at  which  the 
children  may  work;  these  are  all  for  listening.'"^  The  author 
comments  upon  this  remark:  "That  tells  the  story  of  the  tradi- 
tional education.  ...  It  is  all  ..  .  'listening,'  .  .  .  The  attitude 
of  listening  means,  comparatively  speaking,  passivity,  absorp- 
tion; .  .  .  the  child  is  to  take  in  as  much  as  possible  in  the  least 
possible  time.  ...  It  would  be  most  desirable  for  the  school  to 
be  a  place  in  which  the  child  should  really  live  and  get  a  life 
experience  in  which  he  should  delight  and  find  meaning  for  its 
own  sake." 

The  Social  Aim  in  Religious  Education 

This  emphasis  is  as  much  needed  in  religious  education  as  in 
general  education.     The  Christian  religion  is  Jesus'  way  of  life, 


1  The  School  and  Society,  page  31. 

116 


A    SCHOOL    FOR    SOCIAL    LIVING  117 

and  Christian  education  is  learning  to  live  as  Jesus  lived.  This 
point  of  view  does  not  by  any  means  exclude  instruction  but  it 
does  lay  a  proper  emphasis  upon  practice.  All  that  has  been  said 
earlier  in  our  discussion  concerning  the  importance  of  instruc- 
tion and  methods  of  instruction  is  in  place,  but  it  is  likewise  of 
importance  to  think  of  the  Sunday  school  as  a  place  where  our 
pupils  live  together  as  God's  children — disciples  of  the  Master, 
learning  his  way  of  life  by  actual  practice. 

Doing  the  Work  of  the  Home. — This  is  the  more  necessary 
because  too  many  of  our  Sunday-school  pupils  come  from  homes 
where  they  receive  no  training  in  the  social  attitudes.  Says 
Hartshorne,  "We  may  tell  those  children  stories  of  love  and 
friendship  and  helpfulness  for  an  hour  on  Sunday;  but  if  they 
get  nothing  but  blows  and  toil  and  loneliness  all  the  week,  what 
is  the  use?"^ 

More  than  mere  telling  is  involved  in  training  in  social  living. 
First  of  all,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  an  atmosphere  in  which 
love  and  kindness  and  sympathy  may  live  and  grow — an  environ- 
ment that  will  itself  naturally  prompt  these  attitudes.  The 
ideal  Christian  home  does  just  this.  The  larger  community  life 
under  ideal  Christian  conditions  does  it.  Where  the  home  and 
the  community  do  not  thus  minister  to  the  child,  it  becomes 
incumbent  upon  the  Sunday  school  to  take  their  place.  To  quote 
Hartshorne  further  at  this  point:  "We  may  find  ourselves  as 
teachers  frequently  obliged  to  be  a  Christian  community  for  the 
child  and  to  provide  in  our  own  persons  a  constant  source  of 
stimulation  for  the  sort  of  action  we  desire  to  have  become 
habitual  in  those  whom  we  teach."  When  the  proper  environ- 
ment has  been  created,  it  next  becomes  necessary  to  lead  the 
pupils  to  the  expression  of  social  feelings  and  attitudes  in  con- 
crete ways.  Children  and  young  people  learn  social  living  by 
actually  doing  things  for  one  another  and  together  as  a  group 
for  others. 

The  School  as  a  Social  Unit. — The  school  as  a  whole  is  to 
be  thought  of  as  a  social  institution  and  should  be  organized  and 
conducted  as  such.  It  thus  becomes  a  Christian  community.  It 
is  not  to  withdraw  itself  from  the  larger  community  of  which 
its  members  are  a  part  or  to  be  indifferent  to  any  of  the  interests 
of  the  larger  community,  but  no  small  part  of  its  services  in 
making  the  larger  community  Christian  will  be  accomplished  by 
making  itself  a  truly  Christian  community.     Through  the  train- 


Childhood  and  Character,  page  162, 


118  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

ing  that  it  provides  it  will  prepare  its  members  for  efficient 
cooperation  in  all  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  community- 
life.  This  is  made  possible  since  the  school  as  a  whole  is  ai^ 
almost  exact  replica  of  the  larger  community.  In  the  average 
Sunday  school,  just  as  in  the  average  American  community,  are 
to  be  found  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  learned  and  ignorant, 
employers  and  employees.  Occasionally  the  school  should  meet 
together  in  a  common  assembly  in  order  to  foster  a  conscious- 
ness of  unity  and  solidarity  and  common  feelings  of  joy  and 
gratitude  and  sympathy.  The  great  festivals  of  the  Christian 
year — Christmas  and  Easter  and  Thanksgiving — afford  the  best 
opportunity  for  such  meetings.  Certain  projects  also  may  be 
undertaken  by  the  school  as  a  whole  school — for  example,  the 
support  of  an  orphan  in  a  Christian  mission  school  for  which  a 
certain  definite  amount  shall  be  appropriated  from  the  school 
treasury.  Occasionally,  also,  the  school  may  participate  in  some 
interschool  event,  such  as  a  picnic  of  all  the  Sunday  schools  of  a 
community. 

The  Class  as  the  Unit  of  Training. — The  larger  opportunity 
for  training  is  offered,  however,  by  the  department  and  the 
class.  The  school  thus  becomes  a  group  of  smaller  organized 
groups  cooperating  for  common  social  ends. 

Each  class  should  have  certain  specific  objects  of  its  own.  A 
groap  of  young  men  in  a  city  church  took  for  its  name  "The 
Friendly  Class."  One  of  its  objects  was  to  find  each  week  some 
young  man  who  was  a  stranger  in  the  city,  invite  him  to  the 
class  session,  make  him  feel  at  home,  take  him  to  dinner  at  the 
home  of  one  of  the  members,  give  him  a  pleasant  Sunday  after- 
noon, and  get  his  promise  to  become  a  member  of  some  Sunday 
school  in  the  city.  A  class  of  women  each  year  makes  it  possible 
for  some  young  girl  to  continue  in  school  who  without  their  help 
would  be  obliged  to  leave  school  and  go  to  work.  A  class  of  young 
women  founded  and  have  maintained  for  several  years  in  a 
downtown  section  a  kindergarten  for  children  of  working 
mothers.  The  number  of  objects  that  may  serve  as  goals  of  class 
activity  are  unlimited.  In  working  together  for  some  such  com- 
mon object  the  members  of  the  class  get  a  training  in  cooperation 
that  is  invaluable.  At  the  same  time  they  learn  to  deny  them- 
selves selfish  pleasure  for  the  sake  of  the  good  of  others.  The 
social  feelings  are  given  expression  and  through  habit  actually 
enter  into  the  determination  of  character. 

A  further  training  in  cooperation  is  given  through  a  depart- 


A    SCHOOL    FOR    SOCIAL    LIVING  119 

ment  as  a  whole  working  together  for  some  common  object.  As 
a  rule  this  should  be  group  cooperation — that  is,  the  several 
classes  should  work  together  as  groups  rather  than  as  indi- 
viduals. An  Intermediate  Department  of  one  school  undertook 
the  preparation  of  a  missionary  box.  One  class  of  girls  gave 
dolls;  another  furnished  picture  cards;  a  third  girls'  class  made 
scrapbooks;  a  boys'  class  furnished  homemade  toys;  another, 
pennants  and  other  decorations  for  a  boy's  room.  In  another 
school  the  Junior  Department  collected  Sunday-school  papers  and 
picture  cards  to  be  sent  to  the  Philippines.  Each  class  was 
given  a  certain  section  of  the  town  to  canvass. 

One  of  the  finest  opportunities  for  the  development  of  social 
attitudes  is  offered  through  play.  It  is  important  to  choose  for 
most  frequent  use  games  that  involve  team  play.  "A  team  game 
is  a  game  that  is  played  with  a  team  spirit  for  a  social  victory." 
Boys  and  girls  who  learn  how  to  play  team  games  with  good 
spirit  and  success  are  developing  qualities  of  character  that  will 
immensely  enhance  their  future  service  to  society. 

The  Teacher's  Part. — Making  the  class  a  real  school  for 
social  living  tests  the  social  spirit  of  the  teacher.  One  cannot 
do  it  unless  he  has  himself  learned  how  to  subordinate  self  and 
to  think  first  of  others.  He  must  necessarily  think  of  himself 
simply  as  one  member  of  a  group  w^ho  are  all  working  together 
for  a  common  end.  The  teacher  who  succeeds  here  will  be  one 
who  is  democratic  in  spirit  and  who  is  able  to  obey  the  injunc- 
tion of  Froebel:  ''Come,  let  us  live  with  our  children."  He  will 
find  constant  necessity  for  patience  and  tact  and  for  all  the 
wisdom  he  can  command. 

Method  of  Instruction 

What  will  be  the  effect  of  the  social  motive  on  teaching 
method?  The  teacher  who  makes  his  class  a  school  for  social 
living  will  still  be  an  instructor.  How  will  this  aim  modify  his 
teaching  practice? 

The  Recitation. — The  first  effect  of  making  the  social  aim 
dominant  will  be  a  change  in  the  recitation.  Instead  of  a 
process  in  which  the  teacher  talks  continuously,  or  in  which  the 
pupils  answer  a  series  of  questions  asked  by  the  teacher,  the 
recitation  becomes  a  process  in  which  all  take  an  active  part. 
The  teacher  plans  for  contributions  from  all  members  of  the 
class,  who  in  turn  are  led  to  think  of  themselves  as  members  of 
a  group,  all  of  whom  are  working  together  for  the  realization  of 


120  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

some  purpose  or  end  previously  agreed  upon.  Says  Dewey:  "The 
recitation  becomes  preeminently  a  social  meeting  place;  it  is  to 
the  school  what  the  spontaneous  conversation  is  to  the  home, 
excepting  that  it  is  more  organized,  following  definite  lines.  The 
recitation  becomes  the  social  clearing  house,  where  experiences 
and  ideas  are  exchanged  and  subjected  to  criticism,  where  mis- 
conceptions are  corrected,  and  new  lines  of  thought  and  inquiry 
are  set  up."* 

Why  should  not  interest  and  activity  be  as  intense  in  the 
class  session  as  upon  the  playground?  Why  should  not  boys  and 
girls  question  one  another  and  offer  their  opinions  and  judg- 
ments with  as  much  zest  in  considering  a  problem  in  the  class- 
room as  in  discussing  a  game  or  a  party?  They  will  do  so  if  the 
problem  under  consideration  is  their  own. 

Social-Project  Metliod. — The  social  aim  in  education  has  led 
to  wide  interest  in  what  is  known  as  the  social-project  method  of 
teaching.  As  an  example  of  this  method  take  a  project  used  at 
the  Latona  Public  School,  Seattle,  Washington.  For  some  time 
before  Christmas  the  work  of  the  boys  centered  in  the  construc- 
tion and  sale  of  various  kinds  of  toys.  For  one  thing  they  made 
a  large  number  of  skatemobiles.  They  were  sold  at  two  dollars 
each.  The  materials  for  one  cost  thirty-five  cents.  A  corporation 
for  the  sale  of  the  toys  was  formed,  and  for  arithmetic  lessons 
a  large  number  of  problems  connected  with  management  of  the 
corporation  and  the  sale  of  the  toys  were  worked  out.  The 
work  in  English  consisted  of  the  preparation  of  advertisements 
for  the  sale  of  the  toys  and  the  writing  of  short  stories  concern- 
ing the  project.  For  art  work  the  toys  were  artistically  painted 
and  advertising  posters  were  made.  The  entire  project  afforded 
constant  opportunity  for  training  in  cooperation.  This  illustra- 
tion presents  the  essential  features  of  the  project  method.  It 
may  be  defined  as  a  form  of  activity  undertaken  by  a  group  of 
pupils  under  the  guidance  of  a  teacher  in  which  activity  all  work 
together  for  the  desired  end.  It  is  essential  that  the  project 
shall  be  one  in  which  all  are  actively  interested. 

Is  this  method  of  teaching  one  that  can  be  largely  used  in 
religious  teaching?  Not  a  few  believe  that  it  is.  A  class  of 
young  people  in  a  city  Sunday  school  decided  to  make  their  work 
for  the  winter  the  support  of  a  family  in  which  the  father  had 
met  with  a  serious  accident.  Financial  responsibility  for  fuel, 
rent,  and  food  was  assumed  by  the  class.    It  was  found  that  the 


The  School  and  Society,  page  48. 


A    SCHOOL    FOR    SOCIAL    LIVING  i21 

three  boys  of  the  family  were  in  bad  company,  were  doing  no 
good  in  school,  had  no  suitable  means  of  recreation,  and  were 
without  reading  matter  at  home.  The  class  set  itself  to  remedy 
these  conditions.  It  was  agreed  in  advance  that  causes  as  well 
as  means  of  immediate  relief  should  be  discussed.  Very  soon  it 
became  apparent  that  some  form  of  guidance  for  the  class  dis- 
cussions was  needed,  and  the  class  decided  to  take  up  the  study 
of  "The  Bible  and  Social  Living"  (Ward),  Course  XV  in  the 
International  Graded  Series.  The  course  as  a  whole  was  read, 
but  each  Sunday  the  discussion  grew  out  of  some  definite  ex- 
perience of  some  member  of  the  class  in  being  a  Christian 
neighbor  to  this  family. 

A  project  of  an  entirely  different  type  is  suggested  by  Free- 
land* — namely,  making  the  Lord's  Prayer  the  basis  of  a  year's 
work.  "Our  Father"  suggests  a  study  by  the  children  of  their 
own  fathers.  Let  them  be  observant  during  the  week  and 
report  at  Sunday  school  some  of  the  things  their  parents  did  for 
them.  This  observation  and  report  might  result  in  the  develop- 
ment of  new  attitudes  on  the  part  of  the  children  toward  their 
parents.  It  is  probable  that  it  would  cause  thoughtless  children 
to  understand  and  appreciate  their  parents  more  as  well  as  make 
the  first  words  of  this  prayer  more  meaningful  than  before. 
"Thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done"  offers  wide  opportunity 
for  action  and  projects.  The  pupils  might  be  asked  to  act 
throughout  the  week  in  strict  obedience  to  what  they  believe  to 
be  the  Lord's  will  and  report  difficulties  the  next  Sunday.  It 
should  be  explained  that  this  is  the  permanent  attitude  of  the 
Christian,  but  that  this  particular  week  is  one  of  special  thought 
and  observation.  Such  a  week  of  observations  would  have  a 
great  influence  upon  the  conduct  of  children,  and  the  reports 
would  afford  opportunity  for  clearing  up  numerous  misconcep- 
tions. In  similar  manner  other  clauses  of  the  prayer  might  be 
taken  up.  Many  children  mumble  the  Lord's  Prayer  without 
any  real  understanding  of  what  they  are  saying,  until  it  becomes 
almost  meaningless  to  them.  There  are  few  classes  that  would 
not  profit  by  such  a  project  study  of  this  prayer. 

Constructive  Task 

1.  Observe  the  teaching  process  in  a  given  class  to  discover 
the  extent  of  coi5peration  between  the  pupils  and  the  teacher. 
Do  the  pupils  enter  heartily  into  the  discussion?     Is  the  lesson 


The  Sunday  School  Journal,  Volume  51,  page  336. 


122  PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHING 

something  that  the  teacher  is  trying  to  "put  over,"  or  do  the 
pupils  seem  to  regard  it  as  their  project? 

2.  Make  an  inquiry  to  discover  how  many  departments  and 
classes  have  engaged  during  the  past  year  in  some  social-service 
activity  as  a  department  or  class  project.  Talk  with  one  or 
more  teachers  concerning  what  was  undertaken.  In  what  ways 
was  it  successful?  What  values  did  the  pupils  get  from  it? 
Wherein  was  it  not  successful? 

3.  Suggest  a  possible  social  project  for  your  class  in  which  the 
teaching  for  at  least  three  months  might  center. 

References  for  Supplementary  Reading 
In  ''The  Worker  and  WorW  series 

1.  Christianity   demands  social  expression:    Tlie  Intermediate 
Worker  and  Work,  Lewis,  page  126. 

2.  The  social  instincts  and  their  training:  The  Senior  Worker 
and  Work,  Lewis,  Chapter  XIV. 

In  the  library 

1.  The  public  school  a  place  for  living:  The  School  and  Society, 
Dewey,  Chapter  II. 

2.  Making  over  human  nature  through  action:   Childhood  and 
Character,  Hartshorne,  page  159  ff. 

3.  Learning  to  cooperate:  Missionary  Education  in  Home  and 
School,  Diffendorfer,  Chapter  V. 


APPENDIX 

Typical  Lesson  Plans 

A  Lesson  in  Conduct. — 1  Sam.  7.  3-9 ;   Joshua  24. 14-18. 

W.   W.    Charters 

I  usually  throw  a  lesson  into  seven  divisions  in  the  form  of 
seven  questions.  Some  of  these  are  not  used  with  every  lesson, 
but  all  of  them  may  be  used  with  almost  every  lesson.  Taking 
the  intermediate-senior  topic,  "The  Call  to  Undivided  Alle- 
giance," I  shall  discuss  these  questions  one  by  one,  illuminating 
the  statement  of  a  general  method  by  illustrations  from  the  les- 
son under  discussion. 

The  topic  of  this  lesson  has  to  do  with  the  ever-recurring  daily 
problem  of  being  faithful  to  God.  Our  object  is  to  gather  facts 
and  then  to  apply  them.  In  this  lesson  we  have  two  sets  of 
passages — one  taken  from  Joshua's  farewell  address,  and  the 
other  from  the  account  of  the  Philistine  battle  at  Mizpah. 

Type  Questions 

1.  Tell  the  story  of  the  lesson. — This  will  draw  out  tlie 
factual  content  of  the  lesson  and  will  give  opportunity  to  note 
the  main  point — faithfulness  and  its  reward.  It  may  involve 
a  silent  reading  of  the  passages  to  get  the  story  or  refresh  the 
memory. 

2.  What  is  the  setting  of  the  lesson? — In  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion the  student  should  appreciate  that  the  first  part  of  the  les- 
son is  part  of  Joshua's  farewell  address,  that  he  reviewed  the 
history  of  the  Hebrews  from  the  time  of  Abraham,  and  that  the 
burden  of  his  message  was  that  all  through  their  history  God 
had  been  very  good  to  them.  The  facts  of  the  setting  should, 
whenever  possible,  be  so  interpreted  as  to  bring  out  the  main 
point  of  the  events  related  to  the  lesson — in  this  case,  faithful- 
ness and  its  reward,  or  unfaithfulness  and  its  penalty.  The  pas- 
sage from  Samuel  should  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner. 

3.  Give  other  Bible  and  secular  stories  about  faithfulness  to 
God. — We  now,  with  this  question,  proceed  to  build  the  idea 
that  the  problem  of  the  lesson  is  a  real  life  problem,  which  others 

123 


124  APPENDIX 

have  met.     The  gist  of  the  experiences  of  such  are  given — acts 
of  faithfulness  and  their  reward. 

^.  Give  stories  from  the  lives  of  your  friends  of  faithfulness  to 
God. — In  this  question  the  problem  of  the  lesson  is  brought 
nearer  to  the  pupil.  At  this  point  it  will  be  necessary  for  him  to 
translate  faithfulness  into  the  terms  of  his  own  life.  In  the 
days  of  the  Old  Testament  faithfulness  was  concerned  with 
worshiping  God  rather  than  the  gods  of  the  heathen.  But  we 
have  no  temples  to  Baal  or  Ashtaroth  in  the  year  1920.  So  the 
query  arises,  What  are  the  forms  of  faithfulness  to-day?  The 
discussion  of  this  point  is  part  of  this  question.  We  should 
ask  the  students  to  give  illustrations  of  their  own  faithfulness 
did  it  not  smack  of  boasting,  so  we  ask  for  examples  from  the 
lives  of  their  personal  associates. 

5.  Give  stories  of  unfaithfulness  to  God. — This  question  is 
valuable  because  it  presents  contrasts,  and  contrast  is  a  funda- 
mental method  of  developing  ideals,  as  the  church  has  recog- 
nized from  the  beginning.  The  object  in  this  case  is  to  get 
stories  of  unfaithfulness  and  its  penalties.  With  the  older 
students  the  question  of  being  unfaithful  without  being  punished 
might  well  be  raised.  Can  one  be  bad  and  get  by  with  it?  Don't 
people  actually  do  this?  And  so  forth.  The  important  point  is 
to  make  the  students  see  that  in  their  own  lives  there  are  many 
cases  in  which  this  problem  emerges. 

6.  Give  a  list  of  cases  in  which  you  may  he  faithful  to  God 
from  now  on. — Here  the  problem  of  the  lesson  is  carried  over 
to  the  threshold  of  action.  The  students  have  been  thinking 
about  what  this  problem  has  meant  in  their  past;  now  they  face 
the  future.  They  have  the  great  examples  of  the  heroes  to  urge 
them,  intimate  illustrations  from  their  personal  experience  to 
show  what  might  be  done,  and  equally  forcible  illustrations  of 
disaster  arising  from  unfaithfulness.  At  such  a  point  is  the 
psychological  moment  for  raising  the  question,  "What  shall  I 
do  about  it?"  Not  too  many  items  should  be  included  in  the 
list;  better  one  or  two  well  concentrated  upon  than  many,  all 
of  which  may  be  neglected. 

7.  How  can  I  do  this? — In  this  question  lies  the  whole  crux 
of  the  difficulties  of  carrying  teachings  over  into  conduct.  More 
ventures  are  lost  by  lack  of  method  than  are  won  by  the  pres- 
ence of  ideals.  For  a  hundred  who  have  the  ideal  ten  carry  it 
through.  The  student  may  know  what  faithfulness  means  and 
acknowledge  that  he  ought  to  exercise  the  virtue,  but  how  to 
carry  out  the  resolve   is  his  great  stumbling-block.     Therefore 


APPENDIX  125 

the  last  two  questions  should  have  the  major  portion  of  time 
and  emphasis  in  a  lesson. 

Assignment. — These  questions  provide  an  excellent  form  for 
assignment  of  the  next  lesson.  Ask  the  students  to  read  the 
lesson  and  pick  out  the  main  teaching,  get  the  setting,  list  simi- 
lar illustrations  they  have  run  across  in  their  reading  and  in 
their  own  circle  of  acquaintances,  list  stories  of  unfaithfulness, 
pick  out  ways  in  which  they  may  practice  the  virtue,  and  think 
about  how  they  can  do  this. 


Samuel   Called  to  be  a  Prophet— 1  Samuel  1.  24-28;   3.  1-20 
Wade  Crawford  Barclay 

Aim  of  the  lesson. — To  reveal  some  of  the  factors  which  enter 
into  the  preparation  of  a  great  religious  leader. 

Approach  to  the  lesson. — Who  of  you  have  received  help  in 
your  lifetime  from  some  strong  man  or  woman?  (Follow  this 
question  with  others  until  the  truth  stands  clearly  revealed 
that  we  are  all  dependent  upon  the  help  and  guidance  of  wise 
counselors  and  strong,  able  leaders.)  Is  our  national  depend- 
ence upon  right  leaders  greater  or  less  than  our  personal  de- 
pendence? In  the  history  of  Israel  there  were  few  greater 
leaders  than  Samuel.  He  was  a  pastor  (priest),  a  wise  coun- 
selor (judge),  and  a  great  national  leader  (prophet).  This  les- 
son will  reveal  to  us  some  of  the  factors  which  entered  into  hi& 
early  training  and  preparation  for  leadership. 

Lesson  Developmejit. — "And  the  child  Samuel  ministered  unto 
Jehovah  before  Eli."  This  statement  introduces  us  to  the 
environment  of  Samuel's  earliest  years.  (Bring  out  all  the 
essential  facts  of  the  narrative  preceding  this  lesson,  especially 
that  the  child  was  given  in  answer  to  prayer,  that  he  was  given 
(dedicated)  to  the  Lord,  and  brought  to  the  temple  to  minister 
there.)  Do  these  facts  furnish  us  with  an  explanation  of  the 
underlying  reasons  for  Samuel's  great  career?  Is  it  desirable 
that  the  training  of  a  prophet  should  begin  early?  How  often 
are  these  early  conditions  provided  today?  May  we  hinder  God's 
plans  for  leadership  by  failure  to  provide  similar  conditions? 

"Samuel!'''  Jehovah  called  the  boy.  The  record  is  clear  and 
emphatic.  It  was  a  divine  call  that  came  to  the  child  Samuel. 
Priests  and  elders  were  near  at  hand — oflBcial  representatives 
of  religion — but  the  voice  of  God  was  spoken  to  the  boy.     The 


126  APPENDIX 

teaching  here  is  perfectly  plain;  God  calls  children  to  his  service. 
Has  the  monstrous  doctrine  sometimes  been  held  that  God  does 
not  reveal  himself  to  childhood? 

The  hearing  ear  and  the  obedient  spirit.  Can  we  elders  re- 
fuse to  be  moved  by  the  beautiful  response  of  the  child?  Note 
the  statements:  "And  he  answered,  Here  am  I."  "And  he  ran 
unto  Eli."  "Speak,  for  thy  servant  heareth."  The  spirit  of 
the  child  was  responsive.  Is  it  not  the  rational,  normal  thing 
for  the  child  soul  to  answer  to  the  call  of  God?  What  is  the 
service  we  are  called  upon  to  render  in  this?  Is  it  not  our 
responsibility  to  see  that  every  child  is  surrounded  by  re- 
ligious influences  and  given  religious  training?  If  we  allow 
other  calls  to  be  loud  and  boisterous,  can  we  justly  hold  it 
against  the  child  that  he  does  not  hear  God's  call?  Do  all 
children  in  America  have  a  fair  chance  to  hear? 

Parental  resvonsiMlity  emphasized.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that 
the  message  which  God  gave  at  this  time  through  Samuel  had 
to  do  with  parental  delinquency — "his  sons  made  themselves 
vile,  and  he  restrained  them  not."  Parental  restraint  and  dis- 
cipline, always  important,  sometimes  is  an  absolute  essential 
to  the  right  training  of  child  and  youth.  Are  we  failing  at  this 
point?  (If  time  allows,  emphasize  the  contrast  between  the 
career  of  Samuel  and  that  of  Eli's  sons.  They  had  similar  en- 
vironment and  early  training,  but  the  discipline  which  they 
required  was  lacking.) 

Advance  Assignment. — Read  the  less*  i  (1  Sam.  4.  1-18)  for 
next  Sunday.  What  was  the  ark?  W  at  had  been  its  recent 
history?     Seek  a  cause  for  Israel's  del  at  by  the  Philistines. 


Tlie  Evil  Fruit  of  a  Corrupt  Tree— Matt.  7.  15-20 
Mary  E.  Moxcey 

Aim. — To  help  the  girls  recognize  their  own  special  forms 
of  self-indulgence  and  to  be  able  to  cope  with  the  "no  harm  in 
it"  temptation. 

Point  of  contact. — Discuss  the  answers  to  the  questions  asked 
last  week.  The  girls  probably  will  say  that  temperance  instruc- 
tion must  be  kept  up,  or  else  the  liquor  interests  will  get  in 
again;  they  may  talk  about  cigarettes.  But  the  danger  always 
is  that  girls  shall  take  a  temperance  lesson  as  belonging  espe- 
cially to  boys  and  shut  their  eyes  to  their  own  weaknesses.  Press 
on  until  they  name  some  of  their  own  indulgences. 


APPENDIX  127 

Development  and  conclusions. — A  few  months  in  age  makes 
much  difference  as  to  the  need  and  the  wisdom  of  emphasizing 
the  different  "girl  dissipations."  The  point  in  each  is  that, 
exactly  as  in  the  liquor  habit,  there  is  some  practice  that  on 
each  occasion  "won't  matter"  or  "is  no  harm  this  time,"  but 
which  forms  a  habit  whose  fruit  is  evil.  It  may  be  abuse  of  the 
stomach  in  any  of  many  ways:  candy,  pickles  and  spices,  over- 
eating, which  is  surely  making  a  weak  and  dirty  "temple  of 
the  Holy  Spirit."  It  may  be  the  tendency  to  slack  on  work 
now,  sure  she  can  make  it  up  at  the  end,  but  more  and  more 
producing  weak  and  lazy  self-indulgence.  It  may  be  the  allure- 
ment of  doing  things  that  are  just  bad  enough  to  be  exciting 
for  fear  you'll  be  found  out — sneaking  off  to  the  "movies"  or 
with  the  crowd  to  the  park,  flirting  just  enough  to  make  things 
interesting  but  not  to  the  point  where  she  cannot  take  care  of 
herself.  It  may  be  getting  a  little  lax  in  behavior  with  the 
boys,  just  a  little  "rough-house"  play,  or  a  little  spooning  that 
"doesn't  mean  anything."  Get  the  girls  to  do  the  characterizing 
of  these  practices — not  by  being  yourself  shocked  or  severe,  but 
by  pressing  straightforward  questions  until  they  see  that  the 
other  end  of  the  road  is  the  opposite  direction  from  happiness 
and  usefulness.  Then  help  them  make  their  own  resolves  that 
if  the  fruit  is  surely  going  to  be  bad,  they  will  cut  the  tree 
down  at  once. 

Assignment. — Read  over  the  standard  Jesus  set  for  the  mem- 
bers of  his  kingdom  (Matt.  6.22-24,  33;  7.1-5,  13^  14).  How  can 
girls  measure  up  to  it?    What  particular  itewa  are  hardest? 


INDEX 


Action,  relation  to  interest,  78. 

Activities,  program  of,  113;  for 
an  Intermediate  Department, 
113. 

Activity,  motor,  47. 

Activity,  teaching  through,  chap- 
ter xi. 

Adams,  John,  60. 

Aim:  of  a  lesson  plan,  65f.;  social 
aim  in  religious  education,  116 
ff.;  effect  of  social  aim,  119. 

Anecdote,  as  illustration,  56. 

Answers,  insufficient,  49. 

Apperception,  19ff. 

Application,  the,  69. 

Appreciation,  lesson  for,  103ff. 

Aristotle,  97. 

Arnold,  Thomas,  10,  11,  14. 

Artificial  motivation,  92. 

Assignment  of  the  lesson,  45ff., 
69. 

Association:  in  relation  to  lesson 
for  appreciation,  105;  relation 
to  interest,  78. 

Attention:  what  attention  is,  72; 
kinds  of,  74f.;  use  of  various 
types,  75;  principles  governing, 
77f.;  practical  suggestions  on, 
81ff. 

Awards:  as  means  of  motivation, 
92;  for  attention,  79f.;  in  exam- 
inations, 53. 

Bagley,  W.  C,  96,  53. 
Bailey,  H.  T.,  59. 
Baldwin,  Josephine  L.,  112. 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  104. 
Bible,  a  picture  gallery  of  heroic 

souls,  9f. 
Biography,  teacher's  problem  in 

leaching,  110. 
Blackboard,  61. 
Bright,  John,  14. 
Bryant.  Sara  Cone,  31. 
Burton,  E.  D.,  100. 


Change,  relation  to  interest,  78. 


Character  growth,  lOf. 
Character,  a  well-rounded,  99. 
Charters,  W.  W.,  34,  35. 
Child  mind,  the,  17. 
Choate,  Rufus,  56. 
Christian  ideal,  understanding  of 

the,  18f. 
Class  as  the  unit  of  training,  the, 

118. 
CoE,  George  Albert,  84. 
CoLViN,  S.  S.  35,  66. 
Commands,  the  ineffectiveness  of, 

82. 
Conduct:  indication   of   effective 

teaching,  19;  relation  of  feehng 

to,  97. 
Conscious  life,  15. 
Consciousness  of  a  great  work, 

required  of  good  teacher,   14. 
Conviction,     required     of     good 

teacher,  13. 
Cooperation:      of   parents,    118; 

taught    through    team    games, 

119. 
Cope,  H.  F.,  110. 
Cultivation:  of  personality,  duty 

of  teacher,  9ff.;   of  social  con- 
sciousness, 119ff. 

Davidson,  John,  20,  57,  58. 

Deductive  method:  21,  22;  ef- 
fectiveness of,  23;  place  in  reli- 
gious teaching,  25,  26. 

De  Garmo,  Charles,  36. 

Desire:  for  advancement  as  moti- 
vation, 89f.;  for  possession  as 
rnotivation,  88f.;  for  promo- 
tion as  motivation,  89f .;  to  know 
specific  facts  as  motivation,  89. 

Development:  of  lesson,  68f.;  of 
new  interest,  79. 

Dewey,  John,  116, 120. 

Diagrams,  60. 

Discussion  method,  39ff. 

Distractions,  removal  of,  81. 

Dramatization,  teaching  through, 
109  f. 


129 


130 


INDEX 


Drill:  lesson,  51fif.;   methods  of, 

52. 
Du  Bois,  Patterson,  110. 

Eagerness  for  hard  tasks,  required 

of  good  teacher,  15. 
Earhart,  Lida,  69. 
Education   through   self-activity, 

llOf. 
Effective  story-telling,  32f 
Enthusiasm,     required    of    good 

teacher,  13. 
Examinations,  53flP. 
Expressional  activity;  handwork 

as,  llOf.;  of  service,  112f. 

Feeling.    See  Religious  feeling. 

Feeling,  the  primacy  of,  95;  gives 
a  sense  of  worth,  96;  creates 
ideals,  96;  has  direct  influence 
upon  conduct,  97;  is  intimately 
related  to  religion,  98. 

Fitch,  Joshua  G.,  34,  37. 

Freeland,  G.  E.,  85,  121. 

Froebel,  28,  119. 

Galloway,  T.  W.,  86. 
Games  as  motivation,  88. 
Generosity  of  spirit,  required  of 

good  teacher,  13. 
Genuineness,    required    of    good 

teacher,  13. 
Gerson,  Jean  de,  27. 
Good   humor,   required   of   good 

teacher,  12. 

Handwork.  See  Expressional  ac- 
tivities. 

Handwork,  forms  of,  llOf.;  guid- 
ing principles  in  using,  11  If. 

Hartshorne,  Hugh,  100,  117. 

Herbart,  70. 

Herbartian  plan,  70. 

Hofmann,  Heinrich,  59. 

Horne,  H.  H.,  31,  47. 

Hough,  Lynn  Harold,  102. 

Hunt,  Holman,  59. 

Ideal:  imderstanding  Christian, 
18f.;  pictures  aa  embodiments 
of  ideals,  60. 

Idealistic  stories,  30. 

Ideals,  relating  new  to  old,  19£f. 


Illustrations,  chapter  vi. 

Incentives  to  attention,  79f.  See 
Awards. 

Inductive  method,  21,  22;  effect- 
iveness of  23. 

Ineffectiveness  of  commands,  82. 

Instinct  as  basis  of  motive,  85. 

Instruction.  See  Types  of  in- 
struction. 

Instruction,  purpose  and  general 
method  of,  chapter  ii. 

Interest:  chapter  viii,  29;  as 
basis  of  motive,  85f.;  indicated 
by  questions,  35;  religious,  17f. 

Interdependence  of  emotion  and 
intelligence  in  religion,  99f. 

Intermediate,  Department,  social 
program  for,  113f. 

Involuntary  attention,  74. 

James,  William,  78. 

Keller,  Albert  von,  59. 

Keller,  Helen,  12. 

Kimball,  Edward,  44. 

King, President  Henry  Church- 
ill, 10. 

Knowledge:  organization  through 
discussion,  34  fif.;  organization 
through  examinations,  53. 

Lecture  method:  advantages,  24; 
disadvantages,  25;  place  in 
religious  teaching,  25,  26. 

Lesson:  development,  68f.;  for 
appreciation,  103ff.;  material, 
97;  study,  46f. 

Lesson  plans,  chapter  vii. 

Lesson  Study,  the  problem  of  get- 
ting, 46. 

Lessons,  reproducing  the,  107ff. 

Love:  as  motivation;  90f.;  love  of 
teacher  as  motivation  of  lesson 
preparation,  93;  required  of 
good  teacher,  llf. 

Lyon,  Mary,  11. 

Maps:  value  and  use  of,  60;  map- 
making  as  handwork,  111. 
Material  illustrations,  58ff. 
Mather,  Cotton,  17. 
Mathews,  Shailer,  110. 
Metaphor,  the,  57. 


INDEX 


131 


Method:  discussion,  39fiF.;  dra- 
matization, 109f.;  in  lesson  for 
appreciation,  104;  in  question- 
ing, 38;  lecture,  24f.;  of  culti- 
vating religious  feeling,  lOlf . ; 
effect  of  the  social  motive  on, 
119ff.;  of  religious  instruction, 
general,  chapter  ii;  of  review, 
51;  of  questioning,  34ff.;  of 
recitation,  34ff.;  social  project, 
120f.;  story,  28ff. 

Model-making  as  handwork,   11. 

Moody,  Dwight  L.,  44. 

Motivation:  artificial,  92;  of  in- 
struction, 46f.;  the  secret  of 
lesson  preparation,  69f.;  by 
plays  and  games,  88. 

Motives,  use  of,  chapter  ix. 

MURILLO,  59. 

NoRSWORTHT,  Naomi,  89,  76. 
Notebooks  as  handwork,  111. 

Objects,  use  of,  58. 
Organization:    of  lesson  material, 

67;  of  pupils'  energy  for  social 

service,  117ff. 
Originality  in  use  of  illustrations, 

62,  63. 

Palmer,  Alice  Freeman,  9, 11. 

Parents,  cooperation  of,  48 

Pasteur,  Louis,  101. 

Personality,  supreme  in  teaching, 
9ff. 

Pestalozzi,  12. 

Picture-making  as  handwork.  111. 

Pictures,  59f . 

Plays  as  motivation,  88.  See 
Dramatization. 

Point  of  Contact,  67. 

Principles:  guiding  handwork, 
111;  governing  interest  and  at- 
tention, 77;  of  illustration,  61f. 

Prizes  as  means  of  motivation,  92. 

Problem,  advantage  for  the  lesson 
to  be  stated  in  terms  of,  68. 

Problems:  as  incentives  to  at- 
tention, 80f.;  should  be  definite- 
ly stated,  45. 

Programs  for  social  service,  113ff. 

Project  method,  the,  80f. 

Purpose  of  rehgious  instnaction, 
chapter  ii. 


Questions:  developing,  36ff.: 
formal,  49;  indications  of  inter- 
est, 35;  informational,  35f.,  54; 
method  in  asking,  38. 

Rankin,  Mary  E.,  108. 

Raphael,  60. 

Reading,  collateral,  47. 

Realistic  stories,  30. 

Realization  of  need  for  training, 
required  of  good  teacher,    14. 

Recitation,  the,  44£f.;  a  cooper- 
ative enterprise,  34f.;  social 
aim  in  the,  119;  topical,  50. 

Religion:  made  real  in  persons, 
9f.;  relation  of  feeling  to  reli- 
gion, 98. 

Religious  feeling,  cultivation  of, 
chapter  x. 

Religious  interest,  17f. 

Repetition,  20f.    See  Drill  lesson. 

Reproducing  the  lesson,  107f. 

Retelling  lesson  story,  108. 

Reviews,  50ff.;  method  of,  51. 

Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  59. 

RiBOT,  97. 

ROYCE,  JOSIAH,  96. 

St.  John,  E.  P.,  27,  31, 32. 

Satisfaction  as  basis  of  motive,  86. 

Schopenhauer,  17. 

Self-control,     required     of     good 

teacher,  12f. 
Self-cultivation  recommended  to 

teachers,  9ff. 
Sense  of  wonder  required  of  good 

teacher,  15. 
Service  as  expressional  activity, 

112f. 
Simile,  the,  57. 
Social  aim  in  religious  education, 

116ff.;      social     consciousness, 

method  of    cultivating,  119ff.; 

social  instincts,  91. 
Social  living:  the  class  as  a  school 

for,    chapter    xii;     more    than 

telling  involved  in  training,  117. 
Social-project  method,  120f. 
Social   service,    organization    for, 

117ff. 
Social  unit,  the  school  as  a,  117f. 
Socrates,  36. 
South,  Robert,  55. 
Spontaneous  attention,  74,  75. 


132 


INDEX 


Stereoscope,  61. 
Story,  the,  chapter  iii. 
Strayer,  G.  D.,  52,  104. 
Study,  teaching  pupils  how  to,  47. 
Subject  matter,  problems  of,  87. 
Successful      teaching,      qualities 

making  for,  llfif. 
SuLLTVAN,  Anna,  12. 
Sympathy  as  motivation,  90f. 

Taylor,  A.  R.,  15. 

Teaching:  by  personal  influence, 
9ff.;  by  instruction,  34fif.;  by 
story-telling,  27ff.;  through 
activity,  106ff.;  through  devel- 
opment and  training  of  the 
emotional  life,  98f.;  qualities 
making  for  successful,  llff. 
See  Methods. 

Team  games  to  teach  cooperation, 
119. 

TuppER,  V.  G.,  95. 


Types  of  instruction:    deduction, 

21,  22,  23;  examinations,  53fif.; 
Herbartian,  70;  induction,  21, 

22,  23;  illustration,  55ff.;  lec- 
ture, 24ff.;  question  and  dis- 
cussion method,  chapter  iv; 
recitation,  44fF.;  reviews,  50ff.; 
story,  chapter  iii. 

Understanding  as  motivation,  90. 

Unit:  the  class  as  a  unit  of  train- 
ing, 118f.;  the  school  as  a 
social  unit,  117f. 

Verbal  illustrations,  56f. 
Voluntary  attention,  74f . 

Ward,  Harry  F.,  121. 
Whitley,  Mary  T.,  76,  89. 
Worship,  meaning  of,  102f.;    the 

teacher    and    the    service    of, 

103. 


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